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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 gang does Lurie join that commits crimes?

2. What is the scarcest and most precious resource in Nora's household?

3. How does Nora meet Emmett?

4. What is written on a gold-lettered shingle at The Sentinel office?

5. What does the rebuttal letter in the Ash River Clarion say about Desma?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Emmett and Nora do when some of their neighbors move away, including the Flores family?

2. What information is contained in the Ash River Clarion's rebuttal letter to Nora's letter that greatly upsets Nora?

3. What was Hobb's special skill, even as a child?

4. What serious crime does Lurie commit in Part One that gets Marshal John Berger searching for him?

5. How does Lurie acquire the last name of Mattie?

6. How does Toby injure his eye?

7. What does Lurie steal on the ship he takes cover on whose owner he later bumps into in Part I?

8. What is Hobb's "want" that Lurie is compelled to fulfill?

9. What two kinds of folk had Donovan once told Lurie the world was full of?

10. What does Donovan do to Lurie immediately after the wanted poster appears?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Nora's misgivings about Josie Kincaid, and explain why she treats Josie the way she does throughout the novel. How and when does Nora's attitude and treatment of Josie begin to change significantly?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the symbolism of Donovan's canteen, and of the visions Lurie sees in it. Cite specific references to the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Nora is much more open to the idea that Josie's ability to communicate with the spirit world could be legitimate and true at the end of the novel than she is at the beginning? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 673 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample