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. What is unusual about the two bachelors’ house?

2. Why does Pa think the eyes they see in the dark are not from a wolf?

3. What does Pa do with Jack when Pa leaves?

4. What does Ma put on the mantel when it is finished?

5. Where does the family spend the night the first day on the road?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Pa encounter a huge wolf pack and what does he do when they are around him?

2. What does Pa do with Pet and Patty when they camp on the prairie?

3. How does Pa begin to construct the fireplace?

4. How does Pa finish the fireplace and what does Ma do when he finishes it?

5. How does the family get across the creek and who does not make it?

6. Why does the family stop after traveling for a few hours?

7. What does Laura tell her Pa about Jack and the Indians and what is his response?

8. Why does Pa have problems when he feeds Pet and Patty and how is the problem resolved?

9. Why is Laura worried about crossing the creek?

10. Why is Pa not at the homestead on Sunday by suppertime?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the protagonists of the story and why you believe they are such? Identify the antagonists of the story and why you believe they are such? Which three secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot? Which, if any, characters are not essential to the story? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

How do you think the reflection of Laura looking back on her life might be very different then her life had actually been? Do you think Laura sees her past as being better than it was? Why or why not? Use examples from Little House on the Prairie to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Little House on the Prairie belongs to the historical fiction genre. Discuss the following:

Define the literary term "genre" and name three other genres in addition to the historical fiction genre. What are the advantages and disadvantages of assigning a genre to a novel? What do you think is the difference between a historical fiction and a science fiction novel or a mystery?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 868 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample