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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. Why does Ma cook outside after they move into the nearly finished house?

2. What does Mr. Edwards tell Laura he is?

3. What does Laura almost do when her father is not watching at the creek?

4. What did Pa use to finish off the logs he cut to open up the fireplace?

5. What does Pa do when he comes home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the house and the barn get doors?

2. What happens with Pet the day after the stable is built?

3. What does the family do after Pa and Mr. Edwards finish the house, except for the roof?

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

5. How does Pa begin to construct the fireplace?

6. Why does Charles Ingalls want to move west?

7. How long does it take for Mr. Edwards and Pa to finish the house and why is Mr. Edwards helping them?

8. What does Laura tell her Ma she wants to see relating to Indians and what does Laura’s Ma tell her?

9. What does Pa tell the family about their neighbors as they eat dinner Sunday evening?

10. Where do the Ingalls stop for supplies and where do they spend the first night on the road? What do they hear that first night?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you think most people want a happy ending in a novel? Do you think Little House on the Prairie would qualify as a novel with a happy ending? Why or why not? What do you think are three reasons to read fiction and do you think Little House on the Prairie fulfills these three reasons? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Though the several other white settlers in the area aid each other so they can achieve this same goal, Pa and his family have to be essentially self-reliant because these neighbors are several miles away.

In what ways do the Ingalls demonstrate self-reliance and what do you think modern Americans could learn from their lives? Use examples from Little House on the Prairie to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

Compare/contrast the characters of Mary and Laura. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples. Compare/contrast the characters of Ma and Pa. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?

(see the answer keys)

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