View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many musical instruments did White learn to play?

2. How much are White and Cushman offered by the Buffalo Times for their daily column?

3. How does White describe publicity to Alice while working at the American Legion News Service?

4. Where does White wait for Alice during a missed opportunity to see her?

5. Which organization's offer of membership does White decline?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does White write about his brother, Stanley, and his sister, Lillian?

2. What description does White provide of his wedding?

3. What is the purpose of White's letter to John Wentworth in 1947?

4. What is "One Man's Meat"

5. How does White discuss his interest in movies with Stanley in a March, 1937 letter?

6. What impulsive decision does White write to Katharine about in May, 1937?

7. How does White gain confidence as a writer while in college, and what acquaintances does he make there?

8. What causes White to write a seething letter to the New York Herald Tribune?

9. Why does White write to Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and the director of the Bronx Zoo respectively?

10. Where were White's parents from and what is their background?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the key points about White's experiences at Cornell University. Provide examples of his knowledge and practice of journalism, the associations he had while at college, and what those connections led to later in his life.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze White's response to a letter by Cathy Durham about why he has not written another children's book. Include why he might have replied that way, the response of Cathy's librarian, and the solution that White's publisher develops for preventing any future issues.

Essay Topic 3

"Charlotte's Web" reaches even more audiences with a successful animated film adaption of the story in 1973.

1) Explain White's concerns about the direction of a producer's idea for "Charlotte's Web", and how Hanna-Barbera is eventually given the rights to produce the film.

2) Describe the way White studies the screenplay for "Charlotte's Web", his notations that he includes when returning it, and how they are received by the animation studio.

3) Explain White's suggestions for the music of the movie and how they compare with the finalized movie.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 850 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample