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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. Which of the following is not a quality that Jim believes the country girls possess?

2. Where in Black Hawk is Antonia hired to work?

3. What does Jim say he enjoys most about his grandfather reading Christmas prayers?

4. What does Tiny often share with Lena?

5. What does Mr. Shimerda promise to give Jim when he is older?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the gifts that Jim and his grandparents give to the Shimerdas for Christmas.

2. Why does Mrs. Shimerda ask Jim's grandfather to say a prayer during her husband's funeral?

3. Describe Jim's encounter with the rattlesnake as he and Antonia return from Russian Peter's

4. Describe the Shimerda family (as they are introduced in Chapter 3)

5. What confession does Pavel make to Mr. Shimerda on his death bed?

6. Describe Peter and Pavel

7. Describe Tiny Soderball's work and living environment

8. Does Antonia attend school? Why or why not?

9. How is Jim like the Shimerdas as they both travel to Nebraska?

10. What reaction do the Harlings have to Antonia's interest in the dances in the tent?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

My Antonia is primarily a first person narrative written from the point of view of Jim. Discuss how this fact influences the story. What biases does Jim bring to the story? How would the novel be different if another character was telling the story? Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Death plays an important role in this novel. Write an essay:

1) describing the ways death is portrayed in the novel

2) examining the significance of death in the plot and character development

3) arguing what you believe the author is trying to say about mortality through the novel.

Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

In the inscription for My Antonia Willa Cather quotes Virgil (Optima dies . . . prima fugit," or the best days are the first to flee). Discuss the significance of this quote for the novel as a whole. Why do you think the author chose this inscription? What commentary is she making?

Be sure to use specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 890 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample