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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 kind of animal is Al interested in?

2. What is Fitzwarren's policy in his business?

3. In the song Ben learns, what is the moon?

4. How does Marion feel at first about sending Ben to special ed?

5. What common item does Whittington explain used to be expensive in Dick's time but is cheap in the present for Ben and Abby?

Short Essay Questions

1. What women does the book Sir Louis gives Dick say are the most beautiful in the world?

2. How did Mary's husband die?

3. What does Mary Green look like?

4. How does Ben react to the prospect of being sent to special ed classes?

5. What does Sir Louis do when he notices that Dick is interested in his daughter?

6. Why does Don think the special ed reading program might be good for Ben?

7. What does the cat's former owner say when Dick Whittington offers to share his fortune?

8. What causes the ship to turn back after reaching Palermo?

9. Why is Dick's cat allowed to come home to Dick?

10. What does the tabby from down the road bring to the barn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationships between parents and children in the novel.

1) How do Ben and Abby suffer from not having their parents to care for them? How do their grandparents take the place of parents in their lives?

2) How is Dick's life affected by being separated from his parents as a young child? What characters act as parents to Dick?

3) What are the animals' relationships with their parents in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the danger and trials the characters go through in the novel.

1) What role do danger and trials play in Dick Whittington's life? What does danger teach him about the world?

2) What role does danger play in the animal world in the barn? Why is danger a part of life?

3) What dangers and trials do Abby and Ben face? How are the dangers they face different from those of the animals and of Dick Whittington?

(see the answer keys)

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