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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 reaction do the neighbors say Ben's siblings have when they attempt to discuss Ben with them?

2. When did William first meet the neighbor?

3. How far away from the female's den has Burton laid the trap intended to catch her?

4. In 1870, the Hudson Bay Company transfers the title of its entire territory to which government?

5. How does Ben react to seeing the badger Burton caught?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how the female badger hunts prairie dogs, and what problem she might encounter in the process.

2. Describe the process by which the female badger keeps her den clean and the purpose of her behavior.

3. Why is the female badger luckier in her experience with the trap than her mate?

4. In Chapter Five, Burton tells a story of a fight Lobo had when he was a puppy. Describe the fight.

5. In the prologue, how is Esther MacDonald described?

6. Describe the way in which William and Esther MacDonald planned to find the site for their farm.

7. Describe the badger's appearance at the opening of Chapter Two.

8. Why was the male badger unable to detect the danger of the trap?

9. Why does the hawk not frighten the badger while she searches for a site for her den?

10. Explain the development of the baby badgers as described in Chapter Four.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The concept of man versus nature is a recurrent one throughout literature. Examine and explain the ways in which this novel addresses this age-old debate. Use information from the text to support the paper.

Essay Topic 2

Readers can, to an extent, determine the strength of Ben's relationships with those around him by examining the extent to which Ben speaks with them. To which characters is Ben closest? Which characters does he not have much of a relationship with? Analyze Ben's relationship with each of his family members using his communication as evidence of his feelings.

Essay Topic 3

The author claims that Ben is able to survive--though he does lose a great deal of weight--for two months on a badger's diet. Analyze the possibility of this. Can a human receive adequate nutrition from the items the author says the badger feeds Ben? Why or why not?

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