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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. How old is Bobby when he is killed?

2. How do Jake and Frank feel about their sister Ariel?

3. How many children do Axel and Julia Brandt have?

4. Who fixes Jake's suit?

5. Why is Frank surprised when Officer Doyle asks him how he thinks the Minnesota Twins will do this year?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nathan react to Father Peter's communication with him about the townspeople's problems with Ruth?

2. During Gus' and Frank's conversation about Nathan's experiences in the war, what two sources of information does Gus warn Frank against heeding?

3. What causes Frank to abruptly run away from the Indian man and to drag Jake along with him?

4. How does Frank convince his dad to give him the tire iron for the boys' walk home from the jail and what do they subsequently do with it?

5. What is significant about Nathan's query to the boys about whether Gus had been winning at poker?

6. What is the situation that results in Frank, Jake, and Nathan going to the jail in the middle of the night?

7. How does Gus' monologue about killing a man relate to the novel's title?

8. What are the purposes of the Drum family's visit to Emil and Lise Brandt's house?

9. How does Frank feel about his older sister Ariel?

10. How does Officer Doyle's search of Warren Redstone's lean-to sway the reader's opinion of Warren Redstone's character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's use of red herrings within his mystery narrative. How are they used and what messages does the author send through their use?

Essay Topic 2

Many of the novel's characters undergo experiences that radically transform their lives, taking them far away from the expectations they have previously held. Analyze at least three characters' transformative experiences, the effects these events have on their lives, their methods for dealing with these changes, and ultimately, the author's purpose for including these types of disparities between expectation and reality.

Essay Topic 3

What type of character is Ruth Drum? Is she round or flat? Dynamic or static? Use concrete details to prove your answers to these two questions about Ruth's character. What function does she serve within the narrative as a means to help the author get across his desired messages?

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This section contains 1,300 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample