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. Which river are Britt Johnson and his boys about to cross, when they are leaving Wichita Falls?

2. How far is Captain Kidd planning to travel with Johanna, as they set out in Chapter 2?

3. In Chapter 7, what does Captain Kidd light his reading by?

4. What does Johanna yell to the Kiowa Indians across the river in Chapter 7?

5. What did Sergeant Kidd enjoy about being a messenger?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Johanna fare once Captain Kidd starts teaching her English?

2. What is Captain Kidd’s uniform for his news reading performances?

3. Who are Simon and Doris, and how do they help Captain Kidd with Johanna?

4. What arrangements is Captain Kidd making in his letter to his daughters?

5. What arrangements does Captain Kidd for Johanna make when he arrives in Dallas?

6. What Jefferson Kidd’s experience at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend?

7. What does Britt Johnson give Captain Kidd when he is about to leave from Wichita Falls?

8. What is Captain Kidd’s approach to reading local news?

9. How does Captain Kidd settle his own doubts about whether he can take care of Johanna?

10. How does Captain Kidd choose his news stories to manage the crowd?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate the ending of News of the World. Does it ring true to you? Does it successfully resolve the problems and tensions that preceded it? What would you change, if anything? What are you left wishing for closure on, if anything?

Essay Topic 2

Research the history of returned captives in the American frontier, from Massachusetts and Maine to the west. What are the biggest difficulties returned captives encounter, and how does Jiles represent that experience in News of the World? Does she paint a fair portrait of this difficult transition?

Essay Topic 3

The frontier has always been attractive to Americans as a place where each person gets to make their own law, and there is not a single law or cultural authority. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the lawlessness of the frontier in News of the World? Who benefits by it, and who loses? What will it take for the frontier culture to transition to the culture Captain Kidd cites from Hammurabi, where the law is the same for king and peasant alike?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,096 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample