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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. Who lives on the family ranch with Lonnie?

2. Why does the storekeeper ignore the situation with Lonnie and his friends?

3. How does Larry feel about Hud?

4. What makes the strain less dangerous?

5. What does Lonnie do in the middle of the night?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Lonnie while helping test the cattle and what does he do?

2. What happens when the state vet arrives the next day at the ranch?

3. How does Lonnie feel after hearing the conversation between Hud and Granddad and what does he do?

4. What is Hud's response on the way back from the stockyards when Granddad asks his opinion about the cattle?

5. Who is Halmea and what does Lonnie think of her?

6. How does Lonnie feel about the new technology?

7. How do Jesse's stories affect Lonnie?

8. What is a tender scene between Lonnie and Halmea when Lonnie goes in the house?

9. What does Lonzo suggest and what is Granddad's response?

10. What does Halmea think Jesse needs and what is his response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are a number of interesting questions raised by this book -- questions that McMurtry may have wanted readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term author agenda mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the author's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss McMurtry's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

Essay Topic 2

Hud cannot forgive Granddad for not helping Hud avoid the draft during WWII. Discuss the following:

1. Discuss what Hud says about Granddad and WWII.

2. Do you think Granddad is right or wrong in refusing to help Hud stay out of the war?

3. What do you think Granddad's motives were in not helping Hud stay out of the war?

4. Do you think Hud uses Granddad's action about WWII as an excuse to behave the way he does to Granddad?

5. Why do you think Hud wanted to avoid going to war? Is it understandable? Is a person who does not want to go to war a coward? Are there honorable reasons for not being willing to become a soldier and go to war?

Essay Topic 3

In the Prologue, Lonnie reminisces about his childhood on his family ranch in Texas, and how times have changed. He remembers how much slower life was before the arrival of mass communication. Discuss one of the following:

1. Using details from the book, compare/contrast life on the Texas ranch in the mid-1950s with how you would project life would be in the early 21st century on a Texas ranch.

2. Many people, especially as they go into their middle and senior years, idealize childhood. Do you think Lonnie is idealizing his childhood? Why or why not? Why do you think many people idealize their past? Do you think Lonnie's childhood is ideal?

3. Lonnie says that technology has pushed aside the rural way of life, changing things forever. Do you believe that technology and the rural way of life are incompatible? Discuss using details from the book and from other sources.

(see the answer keys)

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