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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. What has Willa shot?

2. What do Adam and Lily find in the barn?

3. Who is happy to see the pie Willa brings from Bess?

4. What does Willa insist upon doing herself?

5. What does Willa do when she sees a deer while driving?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Willa realize when her sisters tell her they are staying after Pickles was murdered?

2. With whom does Willa meet to make sure she is adhering to the rules of the will, what does Willa tell them, and what do they think about her ideas?

3. How does Jesse Cooke feel about what is happening at the Mercy ranch and what does he plan to do?

4. What does Tess decide to do about Nate's Christmas present and how does Willa feel about that?

5. What do Nate, Adam and Ben do after the party and the discovery outside?

6. What do Willa and Ben find the day after the funeral, how do they find it, and what do they do about it?

7. Where does Tess go after the funeral, who is her mother, and what is her mother like? Why did her mother marry her father?

8. Why is Ben's mother, Sarah, concerned about him and what does he tell her?

9. What does Ben asks Willa to do at the New Year's Eve party, what is her response, and what do the two of them think of Adam and Lily?

10. What does Willa teach her sisters in Chapter 15 and what does Tess do after that?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In this book, three sisters meet, live together for a year, meet men and end up either married or ready to be married. The plot is almost unbelievable.

1. With research, define narrative contrivance and use two situations from Montana Sky to support your definition.

2. Discuss the following statement: Narrative contrivances detract from a book if they are too unbelievable.

3. Do you think the author could have written a better book if she had not made the situation of three sisters meeting three men and just happen to fall in love with those three men all living in a small town? Explain what might have been more believable.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Montana Sky, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements (They may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not? Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The killer is described as taking pleasure from killing, first animals, and then people.

1. How do you think Jim Brewster's life helped contribute to his mental illness? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Do you think Brewster is mentally ill and should not be held accountable for his behavior by reason of insanity? Why or why not? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

3. Jack Mercy, it appears, treated his son even worse than his daughters. He was not a fit father. Although a license is required to drive a car, there are no regulations about who can be a parent. Do you think the government should regulate who is allowed to have children? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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