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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. How much was Twain paid as Orion's apprentice?

2. What kind of epidemic spread through the town when Twain was 10?

3. What is the name of the first publisher to turn Twain's first book down?

4. What book did Webb publish for Twain?

5. What does Twain say his mother thought of the trouble he caused as a boy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Twain do after he became a local celebrity?

2. What happened when Twain swore in front of his wife for the first time?

3. What did Twain realize while writing "Tom Sawyer"?

4. What other author did Twain publish a book for, and why?

5. How did Twain feel about the biography Suzy wrote about him?

6. What did Twain do to try and save his wife from dying, and how did it work out?

7. What does Twain say about Murat Halsted?

8. How did Twain's feelings about practical jokes change over his lifetime?

9. Why was Twain not as popular as he hoped to be when he came back from his sailing journey?

10. Why does Twain find is peculiar that people prefer good bowling alleys to bad ones?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Friendship is a strong theme throughout the book. Where are some places that this theme appears, and how do the characters touched by it react? How do certain friendships change over the course of the book, and what causes these changes?

Essay Topic 2

Maturity and aging are strong themes in this book. Where do these themes appear, and how are they significant to the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Security and safety are two themes that are touched on a number of times throughout the course of this book. What are some of these instances, and how does this affect the characters in these scenes?

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