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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What do Charlie, Thomas, and their mother on the day of the burial do after it gets dark?
2. Why doesn't Thomas' mother stand up to Grandma Wolf?
3. How does Thomas and Charlie get rid of food they did not like?
4. What does Thomas feel about Molly and Charlie as time goes on?
5. Why does Big Joe run to the school one day?
Short Essay Questions
1. What precipitates a fight at school between Thomas and Jimmy Parsons?
2. At the novel's opening, who is Thomas Peaceful with and why is he determined not to sleep?
3. Why is Thomas glad to be working at the same farm as Charlie?
4. Who searches for Big Joe and where do they find him?
5. What does Thomas remember about his first day of school?
6. How does Thomas and Charlie get rid of the food they do not like?
7. How does Thomas' father die?
8. What do Charlie, Thomas, and Molly do when one of the mice is caught and killed?
9. What does Charlie do when he sees Thomas in a fight with Jimmy Parsons and what happens to the boys who are fighting?
10. How has Molly changed when she visits on Christmas Eve and how does Thomas feel about her?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Thomas sees a dead crow hanging from the fence. The crow reminds Thomas of his father's death. Thomas's father used to take Thomas out into the woods with him in the mornings to cut timber. Thomas would play in the woods while his father worked. One day, Thomas was playing in the woods and a tree almost fell on him. Thomas' father yells at him to run, but Thomas is scared and can't run. Thomas' father runs to him and throws him out of the way of the falling tree. The tree crushes Thomas' father, killing him instantly. At the funeral, Thomas keeps his terrible secret. If Thomas had only run when his father told him to, his father would still be alive. Thomas feels that he killed his father.
1. Discuss the implications or the situation of a father taking a very young boy with him when cutting timber, a very dangerous job even for adults. Why do you think the father did this? Why might the mother have allowed it? What does this say about the difference between the early 1900s and the present? Use examples from your own life and Private Peaceful to support your answer.
2. Discuss some of the ways in which Mr. Peaceful's death affected Thomas for the rest of his life. Use examples from your own life and Private Peaceful to support your answer.
3. Discuss the differences with which Thomas' family handled his father's death compared to how it might be done today. For example, is it more likely now that if a very young boy witnesses his father's death the boy would be taken to counseling? What other differences might occur? Use examples from your own life and Private Peaceful to support your answer.
4. Why do you think the dead crow reminded Thomas of his father's death? Use examples from your own life and Private Peaceful to support your answer.
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the following:
1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?
2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Private Peaceful, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?
3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements in Private Peaceful. (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss one of the following:
1. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in Private Peaceful.
2. Trace and analyze one major theme of Private Peaceful. How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?
3. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of Private Peaceful. How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?
This section contains 1,298 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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