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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. Why is Billy concerned about entering one of the dogs into the best looking dog contest?

2. Who does Billy think has planted the red fern?

3. What is the significance of the red fern?

4. What does Billy's grandfather tell the boy he must bring with him to the hunting contest?

5. What happens to Grandpa while searching for Old Dan in the storm?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Papa and Billy do upon returning home from the hunting competition? How does the family react?

2. Why doesn't Billy follow his dogs to the third raccoon in the final round of the hunting competition? What does he do instead?

3. Describe the struggle between Billy's dogs and the mountain lion.

4. What does Billy do to try and rescue Little Ann from the freezing river?

5. What are the rules of the hunting competition?

6. Describe the exchange that takes place between Billy, Grandpa and the Pritchard boys.

7. How is the "ghost coon" able to evade the dogs?

8. Describe how Billy's dogs catch the three raccoons that put him in the running for the gold cup.

9. Years after leaving the Ozarks, what does Billy imagine he would find if he should ever visit the dogs' graves?

10. What does Mr. Benson tell Billy that concerns him? What does Billy discover is actually true?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Where the Red Fern Grows, a few minor characters have a major impact on the story line. Select one of the following minor characters to analyze: The Pritchard Boys, Mr. Benson, Mama, Papa. Discuss:

1) The personality (character traits) of this character.

2) The relationship between this minor character and the major characters in the story.

3) The impact of this character on the story line: How does s/he influence the overall story line? How would the story be different if this character was removed?

Essay Topic 2

Setting is important to the plot in this novel. Select three of the settings in the novel and discuss how they influence the plot and character development. Be sure to cite several examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

Wilson Rawls uses a frame story in this novel. Describe the frame story and discuss how it relates to the main plot line. Then comment on how the novel would be different if the frame story was removed. Be sure to cite examples from the text to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,176 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample