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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. Andrews presents a letter to McDonald when he finds him in Butcher's Crossing. By whom is the letter signed?
(a) By Andrews's cousin.
(b) By Andrews's brother.
(c) By Andrews's uncle.
(d) By Andrews's father.

2. Who rides beside Andrews throughout the hunting expedition?
(a) Charley.
(b) Schneider.
(c) McDonald.
(d) Miller.

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?
(a) Ellsworth.
(b) Garrett.
(c) Bullock.
(d) Swearingen.

4. Andrews asks the hotel clerk if the clerk knows a man by what surname?
(a) McDonald.
(b) Miller.
(c) McGillicuddy.
(d) Steinway.

5. How many weeks of provisions does the hunting party bring on the trip?
(a) 8.
(b) 6.
(c) 2.
(d) 4.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the hunting party comes upon a man traveling from Ohio to California, what problem is the man having?

2. How had Charley lost a part of his body?

3. The hunting party at one point comes upon the dead carcass of what animal?

4. For what reason does Miller say that the buffalo hunters they hear on the first night must not "have many hides" (76)?

5. What is NOT a sound perceived by Andrews during his brief periods of wakefulness during his first night in Butcher's Crossing?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

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

5. What distinction does Miller make between Boston prostitutes and Butcher's Crossing prostitutes?

6. What is the author's reason for including McDonald's comment to Andrews that "Young folks…don't know what to do with themselves" (22)?

7. How does the theme of racism arise within the character of Miller?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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