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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. Does Tom leave Aunt Polly his note?

2. Who do the boys find sleeping in their hideout?

3. Where does the town gather?

4. What does Aunt Polly do to Tom for going out at night?

5. What is Ben Rogers doing when he comes across Tom?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the graveyard.

2. Describe the reaction to the Sunday School visitors.

3. Why does Tom realize that Muff Potter cannot tell the true story?

4. What is Tom's objection after the initial reaction to the boys' homecoming?

5. How are Sid and Tom different?

6. How does Tom find his lost marble?

7. When Tom talks and is restless in his sleep, how is his behavior explained?

8. Describe the analogy between Peter, the cat, and Tom.

9. What story does Huck Finn recall to cast doubt on the omen the boys see?

10. What are the boys' reactions to realizing that the townspeople think they're dead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Injun Joe is motivated to murder out of revenge. Discuss Injun Joe's desire for revenge.

1) What has happened to Injun Joe that caused him to seek revenge? Why have these events happened to Injun Joe?

2) What characteristics of Injun Joe's personality lead to him seeking revenge? To what extent is Joe's desire for revenge fueled by his personality, and to what extent is it fueled by how others have treated him?

3) Widow Douglas says of Huck that God's hand is seen in every creature he makes. Is this true of Injun Joe as well?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss religion in the novel.

1) Is Tom religious? Discuss his reactions to Sunday school, his behavior in church, his beliefs in superstition, and his beliefs about the afterlife.

2) What role does religion play in Tom's family? What purposes does the Sunday-morning family ritual serve?

3) Do the community's religious leaders influence thought in the community? How?

Essay Topic 3

The novel contains many examples of guilt and self-condemnation. For example, Muff Potter condemns himself for a crime he didn't commit, saying it's right that he should die for it, while Tom and Huck are overcome with guilt for not telling what they know.

1) Tom is always misbehaving and doesn't feel guilty at all. What types of circumstances will or won't make Tom feel guilty?

2) Muff Potter and Huck Finn both feel that they deserve condemnation, in part because of the society's condemnation of them. How does societal condemnation relate to self-condemnation?

3) In what ways is guilt a valuable feeling? How does it help or hinder the characters? Use examples from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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