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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a sousaphone?

2. Ralph thinks that people from northern Indiana especially enjoy:

3. Who pays for "the Graham's" damages?

4. How does Ralph describe auction followers?

5. What is so special about the contests at the Orpheum?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss "coming of age" as a theme in the book and how it played such a large role in the types of stories Ralph told. Why do children struggle to become grown up so quickly? Why is the transition to adulthood often so difficult?

Essay Topic 2

What makes the book have a community feel about it that can be related to by a great number of people, regardless of whether they grew up during the Great Depression or in the Midwest?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the Midwesterner Mind and why it was such a prevalent ideology throughout the book. Use examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 230 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample