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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. While Ish is traveling to the east coast, he kills an animal, eating its liver afterward. What kind of animal does Ish kill?

2. During the Quick Years, the community tries to start a church. From what "church" does Maurine think Ish gets his ideas?

3. In Year Eleven, Molly is the first person to have this happen to her:

4. Who does Ish meet when he is loading up his station wagon for his cross-country trip?

5. What does Ish find when he arrives home after his trip to the east coast?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Ish and Em have to refill in order to continue on their journey? How do they do this?

2. What event at the end of Chapter 5 both frightens and saddens Ish?

3. Until he arrives at the desert, what are a few of the things Ish worries about the most?

4. Why does Jack think that some of the arrowhead materials are better than others?

5. Why does Em start crying when she tells Ish about her pregnancy?

6. Why are Bob and Dick so eager to use a brick to smash the door instead of the hammer?

7. To what famous couple could the author be comparing Em and Ish?

8. Why do Ish's feelings about the execution seem to be very different than the feelings of the others?

9. What was different about the bodies that Ish saw in the dry, Arizona town?

10. Where did the Tribe bury Charlie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the beginning of the story, Ish is referred to as a person who doesn't do well in social gatherings. Later in the book, Ish decides that he is, ironically, happier than he would have been if things had been normal, but still, he never seems satisfied that civilization hasn't returned to the way it was before. Why do you think Ish never seems to be satisfied? How do you think this affects him, and the fate of the people who look up to him?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter Three, the author states that the fleas: "...in spite of racial differences, amicably maintained a tripartite balance of power, setting for their host an example which he might well have followed." What do you think the author is saying about racism and equality in this text? Why do you think he chose fleas as his illustration? How does the relationship between Ish and Em reflect on the author's view of racism?

Essay Topic 3

When visiting the city where he meets Milt and Ann, Ish reflects that Americans think it is the center of the world. He thinks about what happened to everyone there, and to the world at large, and he thinks of the phrase, "Falls Rome, falls the world." Why do you think Ish is making a comparison between Rome and the city? What does this comparison mean?

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