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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. Which of the following alcoholic beverages do the Bedwetters drink after freeing the buffalo from their pens?

2. Which of the Bedwetters claims that if kids have the opportunity to interact with buffalo, ""It'll be better for them than TV"?

3. When they reach the final fence, how do the Bedwetters let out their nervousness and excitement?

4. At camp, how are the campers summoned to the mess hall?

5. What was the success of the aforementioned Bar Mitzvah?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Cotton propose removing the buffalo from the reserve completely?

2. What is the significance of Cotton's questions about sheep and shepherds after Teft's piranha story?

3. How did the Bedwetters find themselves present at a buffalo hunting event?

4. What plan does Cotton devise to open the buffalo pen gates?

5. What was the general emotion surrounding the crowds that had gathered for the hunt?

6. How did Teft end up at Box Canyon Boys' Camp?

7. What important turning point happens in Lally Two's life as the Bedwetters prepare to fully free the buffalo?

8. How has the herd of buffalo changed from night to morning?

9. Who do the Bedwetters imagine seeing them as they drive toward the final fence?

10. How is the final fence broken?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, there are various references to the Wild West and Western films. Choose one scene or film and describe it in detail here. How do you think the Wild West affected the Bedwetters' sense of adventure and morals? How do you think their beloved Western films affected their quest? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

At the opening of the novel, Glendon Swarthout leads with an epigraph of the nursery rhyme "Little Boy Blue". Why do you think Swarthout chose this nursery rhyme to open his novel? What symbolism can be found in these opening lines to the major themes of the novel? Finally, explain whether or not you believe this epigraph is appropriate for the novel, and why. Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

How does Swarthout use both the Bedwetters and the buffalo to represent the powerless in society? Based on these comparisons, what comments is Swarthout making about the way society treats the powerless? How is the annual buffalo hunt symbolic of the emotional turmoil the Bedwetters are experiencing? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

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