View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What color is the Smoky Hill River?
(a) Gray.
(b) Brown.
(c) Blue.
(d) Green.

2. How had Charley lost a part of his body?
(a) In a coach accident.
(b) In a blacksmith accident.
(c) In a tanning accident.
(d) In a blizzard.

3. What objects does Schneider realize have been weighing down the thirsty oxen due to their nearly two-ton weight?
(a) Coffee and anvils.
(b) Shovels and other tools.
(c) Gun powder and bullets.
(d) Guns and bullets.

4. What instruction does the letter from Andrews's family member provide to McDonald?
(a) It says that McDonald should help Andrews any way he can.
(b) It says that McDonald should place Andrews in a blacksmith apprenticeship.
(c) It says that McDonald should pay his debts.
(d) It says that McDonald should invest in Andrews's hunting expedition.

5. Miller states that the people who come to collect the buffalo bones will use the bones for what purpose?
(a) Pendants.
(b) Rein adornments.
(c) Fertilizer.
(d) Marrow extraction.

Short Answer Questions

1. Andrews is told that McDonald can be found in "a little shack just this side of" (15) what feature?

2. How long ago does Miller say the hunt took place that resulted in the pile of buffalo bones?

3. On what object does Andrews have to keep his eyes fixed in order to follow the hunting party once the land becomes flat?

4. What event does McDonald say will change everything about the town of Butcher's Crossing soon?

5. On his first morning spent in Butcher's Crossing, who tells Andrews where McDonald lives?

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. How do Andrews's physical changes over the first few weeks of the expedition indicate psychological changes as well?

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

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

6. What is the significance of the field of buffalo bones depicted in the narrative?

7. What is the symbolism of the Smoky Hill trail?

8. What do Miller's comments about the dwindling number of buffalo show about his character?

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

10. What does the reader learn about the protagonist before even knowing his name?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,230 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample