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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. After the relationship between Ben and the badger begins to grow, how long does he spend most of his time underground?

2. What visitor arrives as Chapter Twelve ends?

3. What animal do Ben and the badger fight and kill at the end of Chapter Ten?

4. What issue do the MacDonalds face at the end of Chapter Twelve?

5. When Burton's gun goes off while William is trying to wrestle it away, where is William hit?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe why the MacDonald family finally accepts Ben's story as complete truth.

2. Describe Ben's appearance when John finds him and returns home.

3. Why does the search team finally call off their search for Ben after two days?

4. Describe the fight between Lobo, Ben, and the badger.

5. Why does the badger follow John's horse when he rides for home with Ben?

6. Why do both William and Ben believe they are responsible for William hitting Ben during the badger skinning?

7. Describe the process by which Ben cleans the badger's injured paw.

8. Why does the author make a point of saying that Ben cries for his father at the end of Chapter Eight?

9. Why is Ben afraid of the badger when she returns to her den and finds him there?

10. Why does Ben not recognize his brother when John first attempts contact with him in Chapter Eleven?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Based on his treatment of each group in the novel, does the author prefer humans or animals? What evidence supports your theory? Which group does the author spend more time describing, and why?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of George Burton and Ben MacDonald. Are they good versus evil? Or something else? In what ways are their motivations alike and different? Do they have anything in common at all?

Essay Topic 3

The author claims that Ben is able to survive--though he does lose a great deal of weight--for two months on a badger's diet. Analyze the possibility of this. Can a human receive adequate nutrition from the items the author says the badger feeds Ben? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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