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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. Where do the pigs run when they escape from their pen?

2. What does Father do in the evenings in the winter room?

3. What does Father usually eat before heading to the fields in the morning?

4. Where does Father keep the .22 rifle?

5. What do Eldon and Wayne do with the grain shovels the day after the first snowfall?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the roles and the attitudes of Uncle David and Nels about the killing?

2. Describe Eldon's childhood illness and the effect it has had on his life.

3. Describe what happens to Cousin Betty's daughter and where she's found.

4. What does Eldon say about his dislike of fall?

5. What prompts the fight between Eldon and Wayne in the opening paragraphs of "Winter," and what do the boys decide about their argument?

6. What are some of the smells Eldon describes in the opening chapter called "Tuning?"

7. What do Wayne and Eldon do after they find the western?

8. What are some of the sounds Elden describes in the opening chapter?

9. What does Mother say about Jerseys and Holsteins?

10. Describe how Father pulls stumps out of the ground.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the farm where Eldon lives with his family. What are the most important settings within the farm? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Eldon says that he hate the idea of all the killing that goes on in fall but he can't keep from watching. Wayne says that's "two-faced." Do you believe Wayne is correct? Why or why not? Why does Eldon watch?

Essay Topic 3

What is the story Uncle David tells about Crazy Allen? What is Eldon's reaction to the story and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 916 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample