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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 reputation does the neighbor have with the townspeople of Winnipeg?

2. In Chapter Three, how is the relationship between William and Esther?

3. By the end of the prologue, the MacDonalds have how many children?

4. Which of the following fates did NOT befall the female badger's previous litter?

5. How does Esther ask Ben to respond to the new neighbor?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the townspeople of Winnipeg, why does Burton take his dog, Lobo, with him wherever he goes?

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

3. What reasons does the author give in Chapter Three for why Ben wishes to become a bird?

4. As the book opens, how does the author describe William MacDonald?

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

6. As the prologue ends, what does the author say is the MacDonald family's greatest problem and why is that problem strange?

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

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

9. Why is Ben so happy at dinner at the end of Chapter Three?

10. What occurrence leads the MacDonalds to name the site for the new farm?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Eckert includes some imagery--such as the deaths of animals--that may strike the reader as gruesome and unnecessary. Are these details unnecessary? Or are they essential to the story? What message does the author intend to convey with these descriptions? Is the author heartless? Or is he merely trying to present an accurate picture of nature?

Essay Topic 2

The author frequently foreshadows events to come in the novel by discussing some particular point in detail that seems somewhat irrelevant at the time. Cite three examples of foreshadowing in the book and explain why the author chose to foreshadow these events.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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