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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. Why do the parents tell the teenagers not to come back to the house?

2. What do the soldiers do to Mattie's hand?

3. What news does David get from the parents in Chapter 5?

4. When does Jack's owl begin flying again?

5. What do the teenagers see on the farm that amazes them in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Sukey and her mother come back to the farm in Chapter 6?

2. What do the soldiers who come to take over the farm do to Mattie?

3. What is the journey from the great house to the farm like in Chapter 5?

4. What saves the crew at the farm from the soldiers?

5. Why do all the teenagers' phones start ringing at once in Chapter 7?

6. What shocks the teenagers about Sukey's mother when she appears at the farm to collect Sukey?

7. What does Evie say to Burl about the weapons in the silo?

8. How does Sukey seem to react to having to care for her infant half-sister?

9. What alarming news does David get from the great house about the parents in Chapter 5?

10. Why is Evie surprised to hear Shel speak in Chapter 7 and what does he say?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How much do Evie and the rest of the teenagers really seem to understand about the scope of the storm and its aftermath? When in the novel does Evie seem to begin to grasp the magnitude of the death toll and the ensuing crisis resulting from the storm? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think Millet is trying to communicate to the reader about both individual and personal responsibility through the actions of both the parents and the teenagers? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Millet chooses to leave the question of where the parents go in the very end of the novel - and why they leave - very ambiguous? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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