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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 do Jim and Jake go to pick up from Ambrosch in Chapter 18?

2. What is Anton Jelinek's connection with the Shimerda family?

3. How long has Jim been living with his grandparents at the start of Book 2?

4. Why do Antonia and Jim travel to Russian Peter's in Chapter 7?

5. Why do the three Marys often have to leave town?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is significant about January 22 in this novel?

2. What change occurs in Black Hawk in the Spring? How does this affect the people living there?

3. How does Antonia predict the winter will affect her family differently than Jim's?

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

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

6. Describe Jim's experiences when he is housebound due to illness

7. What change in Jim's life occurs in the first chapter of Book 2? How does it affect him?

8. Describe Antonia's relationship with her father

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

10. How do the Shimerdas react when the Burdens bring them supplies during the cold winter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The title of the novel, My Antonia, takes on several layers of meaning as the story develops. Discuss the significance of the title. Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

One of the themes My Antonia explores is perseverance. Discuss what the novel has to say about this theme. Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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