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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. Emma feels that Roger Donald is...

2. Emma saves an orphaned deer from being killed by...

3. Emma Lou's intention is to use her rifle to...

4. What change does Jerome make in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Grouch?

5. What are Mr. Grouch's least agreeable characteristics?

Short Essay Questions

1. What can we learn about the Eppy family, based on the description of their arrival at the redwood grove which would become their home?

2. What can we assume about Emma, based on her trip through the blackberry patch and her prized beany?

3. What gives Jerome happiness in this first chapter of the story?

4. Write a short essay about the subtle clues regarding Jerome's life. This is something of a fantasy story, but there are real life elements that are only mentioned in passing. What are they, and what do they indicate?

5. What does Jerome assume about the status of Papa skunk when the new babies arrive?

6. What does Jerome gather from Old Grouch's behavior while the baby skunks are under the house? What might his conclusions reveal about his own past?

7. Looking back at this chapter, what stands out as ironic, given the outcome of the story?

8. How does Emma Lou know the mountain lion is gone? Why doesn't she tell Jerome?

9. Although Jerome has given up stonecutting, his reaction to making Charmine's gravestone is interesting. Discuss what might be happening in this regard.

10. There is a telling sentence about Jerome's relationships with women in the description of Emma Lou. Do a close reading and discuss some possible meanings.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jerome Kildee is a lonely man. Do you think he is lonely by choice? Do you think he is socially distant because of the kind of work he has done? What kind of person purposely attempts to be reclusive?

Essay Topic 2

There are several life lessons implied in this story. In terms of Kildee himself, what has he learned from the animals and children? Are these life lessons normally learned in old age? How could a man go through his life and not learn them until he is elderly? What might the conditions be?

Essay Topic 3

Is Jerome Kildee a poor man? If not, how does the reader know? Do a careful reading of the story and find passages that reveal hints about Jerome's financial status, and draw your conclusions in a persuasive essay.

(see the answer keys)

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