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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 did the rats kill the deckled gray for?

2. Where does Whittington say Ben should sit for his reading lesson?

3. What does Bernie use to make a water dish for the black hen?

4. What ailment causes Bernie to talk about selling out every winter?

5. How much does Dick Whittington pay for his cat?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of reputation does Dick get at the London docks?

2. How was Whittington separated from his boy?

3. What does Whittington the cat look like?

4. What worries Abby about the chickens' spring eating habits?

5. What does the Lady tell Whittington about the horses, when Whittington first arrives in the barn?

6. What happens when the owl encounters Ben, Abby, Whittington, and the Lady?

7. What book does Abby bring for Ben's reading lesson?

8. What does Fitzwarren do at the docks?

9. How do the flock of birds in the cornfield react when the Lady and Whittington go to investigate them?

10. How did Will Price get his scar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in the novel have different types of adventures. Discuss the role of adventure in the novel.

1) What kinds of adventures does Dick Whittington have in the novel? What do the characters learn from Dick Whittington's adventures?

2) What types of adventures do the animals in the barn have? How are their adventures different from the stories about Dick Whittington?

3) What role do adventures play in the novel? How do they contribute to its structure? How do they affect the reader and characters?

Essay Topic 2

The characters' heritage and ancestors are part of what makes them who they are. Discuss heritage in the novel.

1) What is Whittington's relationship to Dick Whittington? Why is his ancestry important to him? What does he gain from his heritage?

2) What do the other animals in the barn inherit from their ancestors? Why is history and heritage important to them?

3) What is Abby and Ben's heritage? What do they gain from their grandparents?

Essay Topic 3

Ben learns to take control of his life through his experience in the barn and the stories about Dick Whittington. Discuss the idea of taking control of your life in the novel.

1) How does Ben take control of his life? What does he have to do, and how does he have to change?

2) How does Dick Whittington take control of his life? How does Dick's example help Ben?

3) What things are in and out of the characters' control in life? What can characters take control of, and how can characters deal with things they can't control?

(see the answer keys)

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