View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Emilia Thorne often come to the house to do while Tom is at fire duty?

2. What does Tom's front door look out onto?

3. How does Nancy Little's entrance into church surprise Willie?

4. What is the first of Willie's drawings that everyone sees on his birthday?

5. Why is Willie afraid of the bath?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the overall feeling of the townspeople about the war? What actions do they perform that reveal their feelings?

2. What do Willie and Rachel have in common, and how does it affect Tom in the "Birthday" chapter?

3. What does the reader learn about Tom as he walks through town with Willie in Chapter 2?

4. How is Willie's reaction to the squirrel and the dog telling of his character?

5. What might be foreshadowed by Tom dusting off the paints at the end of Chapter 2?

6. What are the signs that both Tom and Willie are healing?

7. How does Willie begin to fit in with the children and what affect does this have on him?

8. How does Willie feel at the end of the day after going to town?

9. What is the meaning of the title of Chapter 4?

10. Tom mutters to himself, "best not get fond of the boy, Thomas." Why do you believe that he says this, and what does he mean by it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the behavior of Mrs. Beech affect all of the main characters of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

How does the main setting of the novel affect the storyline?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the parenting of Tom versus Mrs. Beech.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,459 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample