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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 was Richard Allen Mesington's first pet dog named?
2. When Richard Allen Mesington is seven years old his family moves to what state?
3. According to the novel, how old was Richard Allen Mesinger "supposed" to be when he died?
4. Academically, how does Richard Allen Mesington perform?
5. In Missouri, one of Richard Allen Mesington's neighbors tells him stories about what historical world event?
Short Essay Questions
1. Tim Harrow owns the "sweet" rifle for a few days. He buys it, wraps it up in cloth, and trades it away a few days later. As a character, Harrow has no narrative function beyond transporting the rifle from point A to point B, just like Sarah, an editor, an antique dealer, and a gun collector. Yet the novel spends a significant portion of its space developing Harrow as a character. Why?
2. The novel openly mocks Tim Harrow's personal philosophy that draws from firearms and American history, the United States Constitution, and Christianity. Do you think that these sources of information are suitable for mockery?
3. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being accidentally discharged.
4. Was the "sweet" rifle fundamentally different from other rifles of the period?
5. How is Harv Kline characterized in the novel?
6. Is the "sweet" rifle a work of art?
7. The novel summarizes the life that Richard Allen Mesinger "would" have had if he had not been killed. Is this a valid narrative technique?
8. What does Richard Allen Mesinger think about his neighbor Harv Kline's antique gun?
9. Imagine that you came into possession of the "sweet" rifle instead of Tilson. What would you do with the rifle if you did not know its history? What would you do with the rifle if you did know its history?
10. What message does the novel convey?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Of the major characters in the novel (Cornish McManus, John Byam, Tim Harrow, Harv Kline, and Richard Allen Mesinger), are any of them heroic? If not, why not. If so, who is heroic and why do you consider them heroic?
Essay Topic 2
In the novel, the black powder rifle discharges after 217 of being loaded. Is this credible? Or is it merely a piece of melodrama to establish a political opinion within the novel?
Essay Topic 3
John Byam kills his first man when he shoots a British Officer who is about to hang one of Byam's friends. Byam doesn't spend any time thinking about his action before shooting the British Officer. Do you think that Byam made the right choice? Why or why not?
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This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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