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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. For how many days have the members of the hunting party gone without food by the time Miller rides up to look at the snow?

2. Miller states that it is "likely as not" (184) that Schneider has done what in the night?

3. How does Charley react to the news that the hunting party is likely snowed in for the winter?

4. Once the hunting party makes it down into the valley, next to what natural feature do they set up camp?

5. After how many days of sleeping in a snow mound does Andrews wake to find snow everywhere upon the land?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Schneider feel about the coming of winter and why?

2. What does the loss of the buffalo hides in the river symbolize?

3. How does Schneider's death occur?

4. What is the significance of Andrews's growing comfort with the grisly nature of the buffalo skinning process?

5. How is Miller's monomaniacal nature demonstrated in his response to Schneider's comment that they do not have to hunt any more buffalo?

6. How do the men on the hunting expedition prepare their beds on the night before the buffalo hunt?

7. What event forces Miller to stop killing buffalo once he has reduced the herd by at least two-thirds?

8. How does Williams depict Andrews's change in perspective in relation to the grisly task of skinning buffalo?

9. What are Miller's first words after the accident with the wagon in the river and what do they indicate about his character?

10. How does Schneider's death affect Andrews?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing and one of the novel's main messages. How does the author make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help the author get across one main message of the novel?

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