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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 long has the house that the strange man stays in been abandoned?

2. How much of the island does the narrator's settlement take up?

3. What are Trudy's cats suffering from?

4. What did Louise's grandfather send to them from the mainland?

5. Who do the elders of the town think the strange man is?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to the island in August?

2. What does Caroline plan to do over the summer and why?

3. Why does Call not laugh at most jokes?

4. What does Caroline suggest they do for Trudy's cats?

5. What does Caroline do after the Christmas Program?

6. How do the girls in town feel about Mr. Rice?

7. What happened that shamed Hiram Wallace to the point that he left the island?

8. How does Louise's relationship with Call and the Captain start to change, and why?

9. What question does Louise ask during the rehearsal for the Christmas program?

10. What do Louise and Call help the Captain do, and how does Louise feel about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Comic relief is a literary tool used well by Paterson in this book. What are some of the key examples of this, and how did these scenes affect the plot of the book?

Essay Topic 2

Trudy Braxton is a minor character whose presence makes a big difference in the plot. How does she accomplish this? What are some ways that her presence, however brief, altered the outcome of the plot? What would have happened differently if Trudy had not been in the book at all?

Essay Topic 3

Many different characters in this book are persuaded to do things that they would not have done of their own accord. What are some of these instances, and how did persuasion affect the course of the plot?

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This section contains 632 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample