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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 does Rose react when Peter asks her if she is happy?

2. How does Phil feel when he learns that George has married Rose?

3. What is NOT mentioned regarding Phil’s ability to see, as described in Chapter IV?

4. Once the Gordons purchase the old hotel in Beech, how is it now known?

5. Why does the Old Lady believe that she and the Old Gent should be present at George’s wedding?

Short Essay Questions

1. How might one describe the brothers, Phil and George?

2. How does Phil's behavior in college affect George?

3. To what does the narrator compare the cattle drive?

4. How does the narrator describe the town of Beech in Chapter I?

5. Why does Phil feel let down by their twenty-fifth cattle drive?

6. What is known about the Burbank ranch in the first section (Chapters I-III)?

7. How does Rose react when Peter asks if she is happy?

8. What does Rose like about George?

9. How does George act in a way that surprises Phil, at the end of Chapter VI?

10. How do others feel about Phil's intelligence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Phil's death is sudden, but the question is, is it surprising? Had you predicted Phil's death at the hands of Peter? Why or why not? Are there certain aspects of his death that are shocking or surprising? Why or why not? Why might the author have chosen to remove Phil from the picture by having him murdered rather than in another way? How does this choice to murder him affect the story as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

The government gate is a barrier that both Phil and Edward Nappo dislike. Why? Why might this gate be here? What might it represent in this story?

Essay Topic 3

As the story progresses, much less time is spent on George. Why might the author have chosen to move him to the background? What might be George's thoughts and feelings regarding Rose's drinking, Phil's behavior, the relationship between Phil and Peter, and Phil's death? How does the information from the story support your response?

(see the answer keys)

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