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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the time of the harvest, how long has Jack's father been gone?
(a) Five weeks.
(b) Six weeks.
(c) Three months.
(d) Three weeks.

2. What does Jack do to try and block out the raging in his head?
(a) He grinds his teeth.
(b) He pounds his fist on his head.
(c) He waves his hands at the sky.
(d) He stomps his feet and screams.

3. What is it that makes Jack crazy once his good feelings wear off?
(a) The lack of rain.
(b) The fact that his father is gone.
(c) The stupidity of the cows.
(d) The amount of work to do on the farm.

4. Where did Jack's father perform?
(a) The Grange.
(b) An outdoor theatre.
(c) The theatre hall.
(d) The town hall.

5. How far is the Hawthorne farm from the nearest house?
(a) Half a mile.
(b) Five miles.
(c) Two miles.
(d) One mile.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of man is Jack's father?

2. What is the difference in Jack's stories before and after the accident?

3. How does the narrator describe Jack's mother before the accident?

4. What have his co-workers accepted about Jack when he stops working for lunch?

5. What is in the basket Phoebe brings to Jack?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jack respond to working with his uncles? How does he spend his time?

2. Although Jack's morning routines are pleasant, his guilt creeps into his day and the illusions of the morning are shattered. How does he behave as the day continues? What changes for him?

3. Although he practices in the hayloft and is part of the civic orchestra, Jack refuses to play his horn either at church or at home. Why?

4. While crouching next to his father upon Dale Hawthorne's homecoming, Jack softly whispers something no one can hear. What does he say, and why does he softly whisper this so that it is inaudible?

5. What does the reader realize when Yegudkin plays the French horn?

6. When describing Jack's routines in the early mornings, the author uses the word "sweet" more than once. What things are sweet about the mornings for Jack?

7. When Jack and Phoebe are having lunch and Jack does not want to say grace, he notices that Phoebe's eyes grow large with alarm. The narrator says, "and, though he did not know why, his heart gave a jump." Why does Jack's heart jump when he sees how frighted Phoebe is?

8. When Dale Hawthorne returns home after his three week absence, he does not leave again. What does he do to occupy his time? What does he do when he becomes restless?

9. What does Jack ask Yegudkin after he plays, and how does the teacher respond?

10. While Jack is sitting with Phoebe under the tree at lunchtime, he senses she wants to say something to him. How does he react? What might Phoebe wanted to talk about with her brother?

(see the answer keys)

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