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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. McDonald asks Andrews for a favor before he leaves McDonald's presence. What is it?
(a) McDonald asks Andrews for a small loan.
(b) McDonald asks Andrews to tell his father hello on McDonald's behalf.
(c) McDonald asks Andrews to bring news of Butcher's Crossing back to Boston.
(d) McDonald asks Andrews to let him know if Andrews is going to be leaving on a hunting expedition.

2. When Andrews finds a hotel room, how much does the room cost per night?
(a) 50 cents.
(b) $12.
(c) $2.
(d) $4.

3. What is NOT a quality of Andrews's character by noon on the first day of the expedition?
(a) His buttocks are numb.
(b) He has vomited twice.
(c) The flesh on his thighs is rubbed raw.
(d) His head is pounding.

4. Who drives the oxen team during the hunting expedition?
(a) Charley.
(b) Schneider.
(c) Miller.
(d) Andrews.

5. When the hunting party comes upon a man traveling from Ohio to California, what problem is the man having?
(a) He has run out of water.
(b) His horse is lame.
(c) His mule is lame.
(d) His dog is rabid.

Short Answer Questions

1. Andrews presents a letter to McDonald when he finds him in Butcher's Crossing. By whom is the letter signed?

2. Andrews asks the hotel clerk if the clerk knows a man by what surname?

3. At the start of the novel, the as-yet-unnamed protagonist rides within a stagecoach on its way to what town to Butcher's Crossing?

4. Charley does NOT cook which food for the hunting party while they are resting near Smoky Hill?

5. When Miller asks why Andrews had turned down a job with McDonald, what is Andrews's reply?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is irony present within Miller's discussion of how every part of a buffalo can be used for some human purpose?

2. What does the hunting party's thirst symbolize?

3. What are Miller's reasons for choosing the destination he does for the buffalo hunting expedition?

4. Discuss how Andrews and McDonald qualify as character foils.

5. What is the first real danger faced by the buffalo hunting party at the center of the story?

6. What signs does the hunting party see that point to the presence of buffalo before they actually see any?

7. When Andrews is unable to explain to McDonald his esoteric reasons for coming west, what does he tell McDonald instead?

8. For what purpose does Andrews immediately seek McDonald when he reaches Butcher's Crossing?

9. What is shown about Andrews's character in the passage when he tries to summon the images of the Colorado territory he has seen in books and magazines?

10. How is foreshadowing employed within the scene focusing on Charley's lost hand?

(see the answer keys)

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