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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. Why is Tamaya unable to finish writing her journal entry in Ms. Filber's class?

2. What does Tamaya realize about her hands at the end of Chapter 7?

3. At the end of Chapter 1, what does the brief description of Marshall eating alone foreshadow?

4. What is implied by the equations at the end of Chapter 7?

5. Who made the rule that prevents Tamaya from using the internet to help with her school work?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the consequences Marshall suffers at school because of Chad's bullying?

2. What advice of Ms. Filbert's does Tamaya think about as she is about to go into the woods, and why does she think about it?

3. Describe the setting of SunRay Farm.

4. What are some of the odd habits that Jonathan Fitzman has?

5. What is Tamaya's attitude toward following rules?

6. What irony does Jonathan Fitzman see in the senators' questions about the ergonyms escaping into the environment?

7. What does Ms. Filbert's balloon demonstration show about her as a teacher?

8. Why does Marshall blame his parents for his problems with Chad?

9. What does Tamaya's response to the balloon writing prompt demonstrate about her as a person?

10. Describe how Marshall's attitude toward Tamaya has changed over the years.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

For Chad and Marshall, learning to understand themselves and their intentions more clearly is a journey that reaches a turning point when they are in the woods together for the second time. But their journey does not end here, of course--there are still many more chapters of the novel to go. How do the remaining chapters of the novel demonstrate whether or not these two boys have been successful in learning to understand themselves better? Is there evidence that they have made progress by the end of the novel, or do they fall back into their old ways? Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about whether the things they realized about themselves in the woods have had a lasting impact. Support your claims with evidence drawn from throughout the text. If you use quoted evidence, remember to cite it in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

How does Sachar use chapter titles to convey information? How does he use them to convey ideas? How does he use them to create anticipation and tension? Write an essay that explains the various purposes of the chapter titles that Sachar has chosen in Fuzzy Mud. Support your ideas with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the text, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What message does this novel convey about choosing the easy way out of a dilemma instead of choosing to do what is right, even if it is hard to do? How does this question relate to people in the book who do not seem to understand their own intentions or why they make the choices they make? How does this relate to the idea of a "Hobson's choice"? How does it relate to Woodridge Academy's emphasis on virtue and valor? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about what Fuzzy Mud communicates about making ethical choices. Support your claims with evidence drawn from throughout the text. If you use quoted evidence, remember to cite it in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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