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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. How does the preacher make Granpa angry in some of his sermons?
(a) He talks with contempt about the Catholics.
(b) He talks a lot about Pharisees or separates, while looking and pointing straight at Granpa's family.
(c) He rants and raves about whiskey makers.
(d) He talks with contempt about the Cherokee.

2. The author shares many Cherokee symbols with the reader. What is revealed in Chapter 14 about the meaning of an Indian holding up his palm?
(a) The Indian wants someone to stay away.
(b) It means "Welcome".
(c) It means there is an agreement.
(d) It means peace because he is showing he has no weapons.

3. In what way do the events in Chapter 18 represent a major turning point in the novel?
(a) It starts the legal battle between the state and Granpa for Little Tree.
(b) It is the beginning of Little Tree's life as a teenager.
(c) It sets in motion a series of events that will bring an end to Little Tree's life with his grandparents.
(d) It begins the situation that turns Little Tree against his grandparents.

4. What is the meaning of the red flag planted on the land by the regulators?
(a) It means that the government has evicted squatters from the land.
(b) It means the occupants have been taken to jail.
(c) It means the occupants cannot pay the taxes on the land.
(d) It means blood has been shed during fighting on the land.

5. In regard to the family that Granpa sees facing hardships on the farm, what do Granpa and the soldiers have in common?
(a) They are motivated to provide help.
(b) They are concerned about the children.
(c) They are prejudiced against the black man at the farm.
(d) They believe they have no right to be there.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 15, how does Granma reassure Little Tree that his birth time is special and he will never be alone?

2. How does Little Tree's love and appreciation of nature help him overcome the isolation of the orphanage?

3. What evidence is given in Chapter 16 that there is prejudice even in the church?

4. How does the author establish Granma's resourcefulness in Chapter 12?

5. Which of the following is the best alternate title for Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does the description of the incident with Mr. Slick and Mr. Chunk demonstrate the author's ability to use humor?

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. What purpose does Willow John serve in the novel?

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

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

8. In what two ways do Granpa and Granma help to create a sense of worth in Little Tree during Chapter 15?

9. In what ways does the author communicate to the reader the growing fear and grief experienced by Granpa, Granma and Little Tree at the prospect of their separation?

10. How and why does Granpa's approach to people in church who are badly off differ from the approach of others?

(see the answer keys)

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