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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. What does Jim Timothy say Christmas is about?

2. Tiny Tim's performance rivals the ________ for brightness.

3. Thaddeus Bristol compares the performance at Scottsfield Elementary School to what?

4. What does the narrator give the beggar the second Thanksgiving he comes along in "Christmas Means Giving"?

5. Doug Cottingham gives the beggar the keys to his________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jim Timothy offer the members of the congregation if they help him?

2. What does Thaddeus Bristol see as the flaws in "A Reindeer's Gift" at Scottsfield Elementary?

3. What is the purpose of the narrator's Christmas card in "Christmas Means Giving"?

4. What is the premise of "A Reindeer's Gift"?

5. What are Thaddeus Bristol's complaints about the performance of "A Christmas Carol"?

6. What is Thaddeus Bristol's complaint about the performance at Sacred Heart Elementary?

7. What is the great choice that Jim Timothy suggests the people of Jasper's Breath have in front of them?

8. What has been the trajectory of Jim Timothy's career?

9. What do the Cottingham's and then narrator give to the beggar starting on the next Thanksgiving?

10. What happens one Thanksgiving when a beggar knocks on the narrator's door in "Christmas Means Giving"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of appearance versus reality as it is illustrated in various stories in the collection.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the characters of The Walrus and the Santa who never goes out of character in the story "SantaLand Diaries." How do these characters represent the paradox of the commercial Christmas?

Essay Topic 3

What is the lasting impression that "Holidays on Ice" makes on the reader? What do you think the author's intent was in writing this story collection?

(see the answer keys)

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