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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 the name of Eli’s older brother?

2. What is the name of the man that Prairie Flower is romantically involved with when she begins an affair with Eli in Chapter Nineteen?

3. How many horses does Eli’s tribe take from the Mexican village that they raid in Chapter Twenty-two?

4. What year is described by Eli in Chapter Thirteen?

5. Who is described in Chapter Eighteen as “a younger version of the Colonel, the pinnacle of manly attainment”?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are homesteaders like Eli’s family in danger of raids? What has created these circumstances?

2. How does Peter’s account of the incident with the Garcias differ from his father’s in Chapter Six?

3. What items are taken when Eli’s family’s home is ambushed by the Indians in Chapter Four? Why are they taken?

4. What are Jeanne’s perceptions of her classmates at the girl’s boarding school in Chapter Seventeen?

5. How are the living conditions of the Indians described in Chapter Nineteen?

6. How does the McCullough family’s acquisition of the Garcias’ land impact the community in Chapter Eighteen? How does Peter feel about the acquisition?

7. How do Eli and Martin differ in their response to the circumstances once they are captives in Chapter Four?

8. What are Jeanne’s opinions of the Garcia family? How did Jeanne develop these opinions?

9. How does Sally respond to the situation after Charles has shot Dutch Hollis? Why does Peter disagree with Sally?

10. How would you describe the narrative style of the first three chapters of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the nonlinear structure of The Son and the differing narrative styles established in the novel. How does the language style of each of the narrators differ? Does the narrative style reflect the time periods in which the story takes place? Why do you think the author chose to structure the novel in this way?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author’s historical depictions of the Indian raids in Texas in the 1840s. How frequently were homes attacked in the settlements that bordered on or crossed into Indian Territory? How did these raids impact Indian/Settler relations? How accurate are the author’s depictions of this era and the surrounding circumstances of both the settlers and the Native Americans?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Jeanne McCullough and Eli McCullough in the novel. How are Jeanne and her great-grandfather alike? How do they differ? What kind of relationship did Jeanne have with the Colonel before he died?

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