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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. What is the cave opening shaped like?

2. What does Tom threaten to do if Huck runs away from the Widow Douglas?

3. What does Tom dump onto the table?

4. What does Tom fear whenever someone gossips to him about the murder?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens at the Fourth of July celebration?

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

3. What does Tom say that people often find that leads them to a buried treasure?

4. Where does Tom think he's found No. 2?

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

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

7. What happens to Tom and Huck's treasure?

8. Describe what happens in the courtroom during Tom's testimony.

9. How does Becky react when she first realizes she and Tom are lost?

10. How does Tom treat Amy Lawrence when he comes back to school?

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

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?

Essay Topic 3

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous trickster. Discuss the role of mischief and trickery in the novel.

1) Aunt Polly scolds and punishes Tom for his mischief, but she forgives him easily, too. When Tom thinks he'll die, he believes he'll go to hell for his misbehavior, but at his funeral, the pastor has nothing but good to say of the boys. How bad or wrong is Tom's mischief?

2) Why does Tom misbehave? What does Tom gain from his antics, and is the gain worth the price?

3) Besides Tom, how do other characters get into mischief? Compare and contrast other characters' mischievous behavior with Tom's.

(see the answer keys)

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