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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. How many buffalo does Miller kill on the first day of the hunt?

2. What new habit of Schneider's alarms Andrews?

3. How does Andrews sleep the night before the hunt begins?

4. Schneider is drawing how many dollars per month during the buffalo expedition?

5. Against which natural feature does Charley build the party's fire once they have set up camp in the valley?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. After reading about Schneider's death, what instances of foreshadowing are now visible to the reader?

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

8. How does Andrews view Miller's actions as he takes the steps necessary to turn gunpowder into bullets?

9. What is the author's purpose for including each hunting party member's reaction to the coming winter?

10. How does Miller's explanation of his shooting mistake jibe with Andrews's own feelings about fate and consciousness?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

What is the author's message regarding the history of America in John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing and what themes does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

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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