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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 does Tom blow out Becky's candle?

2. What reason does Tom give for not letting Polly know he was alive?

3. What is in the first closet Huck and Tom search in the haunted house?

4. What does Polly say that Tom should have done?

5. What does the boy Becky spent time with do to Tom when he finds out he's been used?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence of Becky and Tom do the searchers find in the cave?

2. What does Tom think when he's whipped for ruining his schoolbook?

3. What is the town's reaction after the murder trial?

4. What happens during Tom's speech on examination day?

5. How does Tom feel when Injun Joe is found dead?

6. What is Tom's approach to finding buried treasure?

7. Why does Injun Joe want to harm the Widow Douglas?

8. What good deed does Tom do for Becky?

9. What is kept in the mysterious room at the tavern?

10. Describe Huck's reaction to living with the Widow Douglas.

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 the structure of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

1) In what ways is the structure of the novel episodic? What does the episodic nature of the novel add to its story?

2) What things does the author keep from the reader to build suspense? How does the author use surprise?

3) How does the structure of the novel follow the stages of Tom's development?

Essay Topic 3

Tom Sawyer never learns his verses in Sunday School, and he doesn't seem to interested in his schoolwork during the week, either. However, Tom knows passages of Robin Hood by heart, which he reenacts with great accuracy.

1) What is the role of interest and engagement in learning? Why is Tom drawn to some types of learning but not others?

2) How could Tom's teachers make learning more interesting for him?

(see the answer keys)

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