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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. Which famous baseball player is in town and Robert wishes to see?

2. How does Robert describe his vision?

3. What is one thing Robert and his father do not talk about while they work on the piglet's home?

4. According to Papa, what do fences do?

5. Where should Robert have been as Chapter 1 opens?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Robert appreciates the beauty of nature in Chapter 7.

2. What is Papa's position on every man completing his mission in life?

3. What is the relationship between Robert and Pinky?

4. Why is Robert not in school on the day of his adventure with the cow?

5. Why is Robert not offended by the stench of animal slaughtering on his father?

6. What is the irony of the rough blanket for Robert?

7. How does everyone at the farm view the birth of the new kittens?

8. In what ways does Papa show his tenderness for Robert?

9. How is Papa's sense of humor revealed in Chapter 3?

10. What is the literary technique used when Robert watches a crow kill a frog in a pond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how you think Robert will decide to live his life after Papa's death? Will he continue to be a farmer and a Shaker? Or will he find a way to get an education and move into the outside world? Provide some support for your answers.

Essay Topic 2

On the day his father dies, Robert notices Papa's tools worn to a golden finish as well as a cigar box containing papers on which Papa had attempted to write his name. What is the significance of these two items? What do they represent now for Robert? What did they represent for Papa?

Essay Topic 3

When Robert is denied the opportunity to watch Abner Doubleday, the reputed father of baseball, his exclusion from the outside world becomes very clear. Explain why Robert is denied the chance to go to the game. Why is the game counter to what Papa thinks is good for Robert?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,010 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample