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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was jack when his mom died?

2. How does Mat describe his relationship with Jack?

3. When did Jack's father die?

4. Why does Hannah Coulter consider her family's life a work in progress?

5. What are the names of Hannah Coulter's children?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Jack end up getting to know the person he noticed during church, and what was their future relationship?

2. What part of Jack's memory at the beginning of the novel involves Mat?

3. What was Jack's relationship with his father like?

4. What happens when Jack is brought out of his memories and into the present?

5. What happened to Jack's horses and wagon during the storm that occured while he was in town trying to buy flour?

6. What happened between Jack and Will that caused Will to leave?

7. What is a horse breaker and what is Jack's experience with it?

8. When Mat finds Jack at Jasper Lathrope's store, what is the extent of the conversation Mat has with Jack?

9. Who is Hannah Coultner and what is her relationship to the Feltner family?

10. As the book opens, what does Jack remember about mules as he stands on the porch listening to Mat call the cows?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on Jack's wishes for Bible readings at his funeral. Mat seems to know what kind of funeral service Jack would have wanted. Although Jack wanted a simple service, Mat mentioned that Jack would have wanted the Psalms from the Bible read during this funeral. Does this surprise you, considering the fact that Jack never really paid attention during church? Why would Jack have wanted a religious funeral when religion did not play a part of his life other than something he did on Sunday mornings? Was a religious service something that the Port Williams people just did because it was the culture at the time, or did Jack really believe in the religion?

Essay Topic 2

The novel seems to use both exposition and flashbacks in the characters' memories to provide information about the past. Explain the difference between exposition and flashback and provide two examples of each literary element. Then explain whether or not you think this method of providing the reader with information about the past is effective.

Essay Topic 3

What is the author's point in writing this novel? Clearly, Wendell Berry was trying to get a message to Americans through Jack's story. Write an essay that explains what you think Berry's point is and whether or not he was effective in making the point.

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