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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. What is Phil’s response when Rose calls him brother?

2. Chapter V begins when George finds Rose crying. How does he respond?

3. Why is Herndon even busier than usual on the day George and Rose come to town?

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

5. What does George want to buy Rose?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is significant about the cattle drive in the first section (Chapters I-III)?

3. How are Phil and George different from those around them?

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

5. What are a couple things that may have turned Johnny to drink?

6. How does Phil get Rose's goat regarding music?

7. What bothers George about Phil?

8. How does George's behavior change when he begins courting Rose?

9. What does the narrator say about Phil's eyes in Chapter IV?

10. Why does Phil dislike alcohol?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rose begins to self-medicate with whiskey. How does this reflect her husband's behavior? What can be learned about Johnny through Rose's drinking? What, in general, is the attitude regarding alcohol in The Power of the Dog? What details in the story support this?

Essay Topic 2

When Phil sees Rose's unusual floral arrangement, he realizes that she may be more dangerous than he once thought. What does he mean by this? How might she be dangerous or threatening to Phil? How does Phil fear her? How does this show in his behavior towards her?

Essay Topic 3

The haves versus the have-nots is an important idea in The Power of the Dog. How does this disparity in assets affect the relationships between the characters? How are they all - the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor - never truly happy? Why? What is missing from all of their lives?

(see the answer keys)

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