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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Wilburn, the boy at the orphanage, as much of an outcast as Little Tree is?
(a) His clubfoot makes him different from the other children.
(b) He is Mexican.
(c) He is African-American.
(d) He is Jewish.

2. In what two ways does the author introduce humor in the incident with the two men from Chattanooga?
(a) By describing how Granpa leads them to the edge of the cliff and taunts them until they beg for forgiveness.
(b) By describing how Little Tree outwits them and sends them running from the hounds.
(c) By describing how Little Tree sets the hounds on them and they are chased into the freezing river.
(d) By describing how the men fall into poison ivy and how Granma cooks them fish with roots that cause diarrhea.

3. The efforts made by the person who actually gets the reverend to release Little Tree from the orphanage symbolize the strength of some relationships. Which relationship is actually involved?
(a) The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren.
(b) The relationship between a preacher and his church member.
(c) The relationship between an uncle and his nephew.
(d) The relationship between two friends.

4. In regard to leaving the orphanage, how does Granpa reveal that he wants Little Tree to continue learning to make his own decisions?
(a) Granpa sends Pine Billy to the orphanage to find out if Little Tree wants to go home.
(b) Granpa tells the reverend to call Little Tree, and they ask him if he wants to go home.
(c) Granpa goes to the gate of the orphanage and lets Little Tree decide whether to go home with him.
(d) Granpa tells Granma to write a letter that Pine Billy takes to Little Tree asking if he wants to go home.

5. In the incident with the two men from Chattanooga, how does Little Tree demonstrate that he is becoming clever and less trusting?
(a) He takes the dollar and then tells them he doesn't know Granpa.
(b) He takes the dollar and tells them Granpa is at the settlement.
(c) He asks for two dollars instead and leads them away from the trail.
(d) He takes the dollar they offer him to lead them to Granpa but he leads them away from the stills.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who plays the most significant role in getting Little Tree back from the orphanage, thereby demonstrating the deep bond between them?

2. What is the first thing that Little Tree does on the trail when he is going home from the orphanage?

3. How do religious and cultural beliefs cause Little Tree and the sharecropper's daughter to act negatively towards each other?

4. Which of the following is the best explanation for the author's inclusion of Granpa's story about the "Farm in the Clearing" in the novel?

5. Why does the author include the special relationship between Mr. Wine and Little Tree's family in the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Little Tree's love of nature help him through the misery he feels at the orphanage?

2. Write a short character sketch of Mr. Wine and summarize his role in the story.

3. What are the author's reasons for introducing the sharecropper and his daughter to the reader?

4. Give an example from Chapter 12 of how well the author uses vivid description to convey a picture of Spring to the reader.

5. Identify two specific lessons that Little Tree learns from his family and that are reinforced by Mr. Wine.

6. What are the early symbols in Chapter 20 of Little Tree's excitement that he is home from the orphanage?

7. How does this episode on the old farm symbolize both the cruelty and generosity observed by Granpa in his youth?

8. Give a brief summary of the events related by Granpa that lead to Little Tree's return from the orphanage.

9. What purpose does Willow John serve in the novel?

10. Why isn't Granpa interested in talking to Mr. Slick and Mr. Chunk about putting him to work on a big whiskey still?

(see the answer keys)

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