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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 Guthrie do about Ella's request concerning Ike and Bobby?

2. What does Victoria ask about as far as a doctor is concerned?

3. What does the barber ask Ike and Bobby about their mother?

4. Where does Victoria go on her lunch break?

5. How is the time the boys spend with their mother before she leaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Victoria end up going to Denver?

2. Where do Ike and Bobby ride their horse and why do they go there?

3. What happens when Guthrie goes to speak to Russell about what he did to Ike and Bobby?

4. What call does Dr. Martin have that has to do with the McPherons and Victoria?

5. What does Victoria tell the McPheron brothers about where she was and where do they take her?

6. What does Maggie tell Harold at the store and what do he and his brother decide they need to do?

7. What happens at the beginning of the book when Tom Guthrie goes in to speak with his wife before leaving for school?

8. What happens when Victoria goes home after school the afternoon her mother decided Victoria was pregnant?

9. What does Dr. Martin do after he examines Victoria and what does she ask him?

10. What does Victoria tell Maggie about the baby's father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Victoria matures and grows throughout the book. Ike and Bobby do also.

1. What do you think might be some of the reasons Victoria is maturing? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Do you think Victoria's maturity shown in the book is unrealistic in the short amount of time period the book covers? Why or why not?

3. Discuss the ways that Ike and Bobby show changes in their maturity in the book.

Essay Topic 2

Oftentimes, a book is more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think Plainsong is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

We can infer that Victoria is accustomed to verbal abuse from her mother because she does not seem alarmed until her mother says she will kick Victoria out of the house. Prior to that, Victoria listened to her mother's abusive name calling as if it were a normal occurrence.

1. Do you think verbal fighting and name calling is abuse? Do you think it should be illegal for a parent to do that? Why or why not?

2. How do you think Victoria's mother's verbal abuse of her daughter affects her daughter? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. Why do you think a parent would kick a daughter out of the house is she became pregnant? Discuss what you would do if Victoria was your daughter.

(see the answer keys)

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