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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. How far was it to the doctor’s house in Chapter 18?

2. Which horse had Mrs. Gordon sent James off on in the storm to look for Mr. Gordon, John, and Black Beauty?

3. How is Merrylegs described physically in Chapter 4?

4. What did Merrylegs do to first hint to the boys in Chapter 9 that he was tired and ready to be done?

5. Why did John and Thomas Green stay late at the stable one night in Chapter 19?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does communication play in Black Beauty’s life, as described in Chapter 6?

2. How does Black Beauty show readers that the Gordons are good people?

3. How does Black Beauty and Ginger’s relationship change throughout Chapter 5?

4. How does Black Beauty describe what ‘breaking in’ is for readers?

5. What purpose might the old hostler serve in the novel?

6. How was Ginger taught not to trust men?

7. How does the theme of trust appear in Chapter 16?

8. How did Ginger’s childhood compare to Black Beauty’s childhood?

9. How is the idea of fashion represented in Chapter 10?

10. What was the understanding among everyone at Birtwik Park, which no one acknowledged aloud to the Gordons?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Black Beauty develops many different friendships. Compare/contrast any two friendships that Black Beauty has in the novel. What does Black Beauty have to offer his friend? What does his friend have to offer Black Beauty?

Essay Topic 2

Black Beauty is a story told from a horse’s perspective. What are the challenges for an author of having the story told from having a horse’s perspective? What are the challenges for a reader?

Essay Topic 3

Death appears in Black Beauty’s story many times. What are three examples of death from Black Beauty, and what might the author’s purpose have been for including those deaths?

(see the answer keys)

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