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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. Who tells Andrews to go get his knives so the men can sharpen them?

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

3. How many buffalo does Miller kill before he cleans out his rifle?

4. Who constructs a tent out of canvas and wood once the hunting party sets up camp in the valley?

5. How far away from Miller are the buffalo before he starts shooting?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Describe and analyze the intense clash between Miller and Schneider in Part Two, Chapter VI.

6. What is demonstrated about Miller's character when he voices the desire to bring back a huge load of hides to show the hunters in Butcher's Crossing?

7. Discuss the irony present in the depiction of Schneider's death.

8. What is the irony inherent in Miller's response to Schneider's request that Miller begin the hunt slowly?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

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