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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. What did the stranger's plan light his head up with?

2. What kind of honesty does Mrs. Richards say the town has trained them to think?

3. What did the residents of Hadleyburg teach their babies in the cradle?

4. Which of the following activities did Mr. and Mrs. Richards used to do in the evening?

5. Who falls down in this chapter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Richards say Burgess is not as mean-spirited as the town thinks?

2. How does Mr. Richards react when he reads the stranger's note?

3. How does a stranger try to get the 18 principals to bid for the sack?

4. What does the stranger's second note say?

5. Why does Mr. Richards not want to accept checks?

6. What does Jack Halliday notice about the town?

7. What does Wilson accuse Billson of?

8. Why did the stranger have to wait before implementing his plan?

9. What rumor does Burgess have to deny?

10. Why does the stranger say he devised his scheme?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the novel's chronological setting.

What were the main concerns during the 1900s? How does the author express these concerns?

How would the author change the novel if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 2

Look at the structure of the novel.

How does the author use character and dialogue to drive the narrative?

Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Mark Twain uses a fictional town as his setting? How would he have to change the story if he used a real town? How does Twain use his setting to communicate character and theme?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 655 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample