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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. Leigh closes his September 20 letter to Mr. Henshaw with a limerick: “De Liver De Letter De Sooner De Better De Later De Letter De Madder” what?

2. How does Leigh say his father ends their calls in his December 1 letter?

3. Leigh says in his December 4 letter that he wishes his dad still hauled sugar beets for the refinery where?

4. How does Leigh say he felt about Mr. Henshaw’s list of questions in his November 15 letter?

5. Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw on September 20 with ten questions. Number ten is not really a question. What is this statement?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Leigh write about in his diary over the Christmas holidays (December 24-25)?

2. What does Leigh write about his lunch situation in his diary on January 9 and 10?

3. What question does Leigh respond to in his November 24 letter? How does he respond?

4. What is related of Mr. Henshaw’s advice to Leigh in Leigh’s letter from December 21?

5. What does Leigh say about the questions Mr. Henshaw sent him in his November 15 letter?

6. Why does Leigh write to Mr. Henshaw on September 20? How old is Leigh in this letter?

7. How old is Leigh when he writes his third letter to Mr. Henshaw on November 13? What does Leigh say about Mr. Henshaw’s book?

8. What does Leigh write about in his second letter to Mr. Henshaw, dated December 3? What grade is Leigh in now?

9. What books are discussed in Leigh’s letters to Mr. Henshaw on October 2 and November 2 in the beginning of the book?

10. What ploy does Leigh develop to thwart the lunch bag robber after the Christmas holidays? Is he successful?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the differences noted in the text between Leigh’s letters and his diary entries. How does Leigh change the way he prints the date on each document? How does Leigh address his diary entries? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Define “dialogue” in literature. How is dialogue typically depicted in novels and short stories? How is dialogue depicted differently in plays and drama? How realistic is Leigh’s dialogue in his January 10 entry? Where else in the story does Leigh experiment with writing dialogue?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of the struggles of divorce seen in Dear Mr. Henshaw. Why does Leigh have difficulty dealing with his parents’ divorce? What are the consequences that Leigh faces from this disruption? How does Leigh blame himself for the divorce?

(see the answer keys)

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