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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. Who goes with Matt to rescue the dog?

2. When Matt walks in the woods, how does he find his way?

3. What is the next book that Matt has to get his adventures from?

4. What is suggested to Matt that will enable him to go on the hunt and not worry his father?

5. How many arrows does Attean use to kill the bear?

Short Essay Questions

1. Attean tells Matt that it is the white man who introduced metal traps to the Indians. What does the trap symbolize to Attean?

2. How does Matt's reaction to the cleanup being relegated to squaws indicate that he is more accepting of cultural differences?

3. What is Matt's reaction to Attean's explanation of his grandmother's hatred of white men?

4. As Matt misses his family and Christmas nears, how do his memories work for him?

5. How does such a violent act as killing a bear bring Matt and Attean into a relationship that for the first time seems like a friendship?

6. When Attean comes to say farewell, why does Matt to give Attean his father's watch and not the book?

7. Matt gets considerable reassurance of his acceptance in Chapter 22 when Attean renews his invitation to Matt to join them to find a new hunting ground. How does Matt's response please and simultaneously disappoint Attean?

8. After a day of hard play in the Indian village, Matt is physically sore but content. Explain these two apparently contradicting feelings.

9. Why is Matt "delighted" to know that Attean tells the story to his brothers?

10. What is the explanation for Attean not eating the bear and how does he seem to feel about this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the beginning of The Sign of the Beaver, Matt is a child in his father's care. Although he has learned the lessons his father and his parents have taught him, discuss the immature side of Matt and give examples of his behaviors or early relations with people that suggest that he is still a child.

Essay Topic 2

There are four instances in the book that deal with metal traps--early on there is Ben and his trapping for furs; there is Attean explaining how they cannot take the fox from a trap on another tribe's hunting ground; there is releasing the dog from the metal trap. How do these traps and rules around them illustrate the conflict between the white man and the Indian and each other's rules?

Essay Topic 3

Matt and Attean tell each other stories. Explain the importance of their knowing each other's stories and extend this by explaining the importance of people knowing the stories (such as the tales, the fables, the myths) of other cultures.

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This section contains 798 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample