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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. About what do Harold and Raymond joke?

2. Where does Victoria spend the night?

3. Why do Ike and Bobby go to the train station?

4. What does Mrs. Steans encourage Ike and Bobby to do?

5. What does Ralph Black ask Ike and Bobby?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the boys tell Guthrie when he picks them up at the McPherons' and what do they ask him?

2. What do the McPheron brothers do after Victoria's examination is finished?

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

4. What does Crowder decide to do about Russell, what is Russell's father's response and what does Crowder tell Guthrie when they leave?

5. How does Victoria's mother find out Victoria is pregnant and what is her response?

6. Who does Guthrie see at the bar, what does she say and what does he do?

7. What happens with the last cow that needs done and what do the brothers decide to do with her?

8. Where is Guthrie attending a party, why does he leave early, where does he go and what does Maggie tell him when he leaves?

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

10. What does Russell and a friend do to Ike and Bobby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The only question Victoria has for the doctor is whether her baby is all right. Clearly she does want the baby. At this point it is difficult to say why Victoria wants to have the baby despite the hardships pregnancy and motherhood will cause. Perhaps because Victoria has never had a fulfilling family life she is ready to love a child of her own.

1. Discuss the reasons why Victoria might want to have her baby.

2. Do you think Victoria should keep her baby? Why or why not?

3. Discuss the pros and cons of a teenage girl having and keeping a baby.

Essay Topic 2

Guthrie goes upstairs and into the room where his wife, Ella, lies in bed. He asks if she wants anything, but she does not answer. Guthrie leaves the room and Ella looks around before folding her arm across her face. Guthrie leaves the house and drives away in his pickup truck.

1. Do you think Ella Guthrie is depressed? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. How do you think younger children such as Ike and Bobby might feel about their mother? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. If Tom Guthrie was a friend of yours what would you advise him to do? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The boys arrive home and notice that their mother is still in her room. They wonder if she has been there all day. The boys go to the corral and herd the horses into the barn. They saddle the horses and ride west along the railroad tracks. Nine and ten year old boys Ike and Bobby seem to enjoy a great deal of independence compared to similar aged children who live in cities.

1. Discuss the differences that might be evident between raising children in a small town as opposed to a larger city. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. Do you think Ike and Bobby would have the same amount of independence if their mother was different? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. Discuss what you can discern so far of the character and personalities of Ike and Bobby. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,337 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample