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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. To what does Mr. Holt agree?

2. Where does Catherine's writing book appear after she loses it?

3. Catherine tells her father about boys who ________________________.

4. What does Asa feel is unfair at school?

5. What does Mr. Hall think is the source of Catherine's distraction?

Short Essay Questions

1. What job are men involved in as Chapter 9 begins?

2. How does the author use a flashback to give a glimpse into the Halls' life before Mrs. Hall died?

3. What two instances of flashback are used in Chapter 8?

4. What incident regarding some boys and the thin ice does Catherine tell her father and what is his response?

5. Describe the story of the runaway Williams boy becoming a Russian Count.

6. What news does Sophy tell her friends about where she will be going and why she is going there?

7. How does the author use the metaphor of a growing infant to indicate the change in seasons?

8. Why does Catherine believe her father responded in a sexist manner when she told him about the boys near the thin ice?

9. How does sexism surface again in the story--this time regarding math studies?

10. What is the first journal entry in the book and by whom is it written?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the first Mrs Hall and the second Mrs. Hall. How are they different? How are they similar?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the significance of the book's title. What did the author mean by calling the story A GATHERING OF DAYS? Cite an example to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the overall setting for the story. Why does the author use the setting she does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

(see the answer keys)

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