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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. Which member of the hunting party believes that Miller cares more about the buffalo hides than he does about human life?

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

3. Miller reports that during his ride, he had seen snow up to how many feet deep?

4. Miller tells Schneider that one time he had been snowed in all by himself in what state?

5. What report does Miller make after inspecting the state of the men's horses?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. How does Charley feel about the coming of winter and why?

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

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

9. How does Andrews feel about the coming of winter and why?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Determine the author's message in Butcher's Crossing regarding the dangerous and volatile qualities of the natural world.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

How might John Williams's novel Butcher's Crossing be classified as a coming-of-age story and what elements of the narrative complicate this distinction?

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