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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. How did the MacDonalds originally plan to chose the site for their farm?

2. In Chapter Five, Burton mentions that badgers are better fighters than all but which animal?

3. After the neighbor leaves, how does Esther MacDonald say she feels about the man?

4. By dawn of the second morning caught in the trap, what has the female badger accomplished?

5. For what is the badger searching when the author first introduces the character?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Esther suggest in Chapter One as the real reason Ben acts as though he is afraid of his father?

4. Describe Mr. Burton's appearance as discussed in Chapter One.

5. Describe the den the badger creates for herself and her litter.

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

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

8. One of the pups is still alive when the female badger finally escapes the trap and returns to her den. Why does the last pup die?

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

10. Why does Burton wish to trap on the MacDonald's land?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Based on his treatment of each group in the novel, does the author prefer humans or animals? What evidence supports your theory? Which group does the author spend more time describing, and why?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Ben is fascinated by birds: hawks, kingfishers, finches, hens. Why is Ben so interested in birds? What conclusions can the reader draw as to Ben's envy of these animals? What do birds have that Ben wishes he had?

(see the answer keys)

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