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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 does Mrs. Gannet offer Johanna in Chapter 9 to win her over?

2. How does the desk clerk in the Dallas hotel characterize Johanna’s actions?

3. Why does Captain Kidd read news of discoveries in electromagnetism to the crowd in Wichita Falls?

4. What does Captain Kidd buy from Thurber, in addition to the newspapers?

5. What gift does Doris give Johanna?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Captain Kidd get Johanna out of her Kiowa dress and into western clothes?

2. How is Johanna saved from being left with Simon and Miss Dillon?

3. What kind of impression does Johanna’s appearance makes on Captain Kidd?

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

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

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

7. What does Captain Kidd like about the message corps?

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

9. How does Mrs. Gannet fare, taking care of Johanna in the hotel room?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When is News of the World most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?

Essay Topic 2

Write an evaluative review of News of the World. What is this book’s place in our culture? Who will find this book most useful? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

Essay Topic 3

Would you recommend News of the World? For what purposes would you recommend News of the World, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,005 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample