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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. To what state will the hunting expedition travel?

2. How does Andrews attempt to alleviate the pain he is feeling from riding on the first day of the expedition?

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

4. McDonald warns Andrews not to talk to hunters in town for what reason?

5. Once Andrews settles into his hotel room, he realizes that he has not seen one iteration of which object within the town of Butcher's Crossing?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. 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?

5. What query is made within the letter from Andrews's father to McDonald and how does McDonald respond?

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

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

8. What is Andrews's true aim in coming to Butcher's Crossing?

9. What reservations does Schneider share about the prospect of the buffalo hunting expedition?

10. What is the main hardship Andrews faces in the first days of the hunting expedition?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's use of literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and personification and the devices' ability to make the story of Butcher's Crossing come alive for the reader.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why the author of Butcher's Crossing sets the mood for the novel by including an Epigraphs section.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,217 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample