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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 finally ruins Jack's fantasy stories when he is driving the tractor in the field?

2. What do the men talk about while they are at the feed store?

3. How does Jack describe the memory of his brother's death?

4. What about his surroundings does Jack become aware of while eating his lunch?

5. In Dale's story, whose skull is Lord Byron trying to make into a drinking cup?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the family react to Dale Hawthorne's frequent disappearances? How does Jack react to his father's disappearances?

2. Describe Jack's uncles. What do they do on the farm? What do they look like? How do they behave?

3. What chores are Jack responsible for when he works in the barn? What feelings do the chores arouse in him?

4. What does Jack think about as he prepares the cows for milking after realizing why Phoebe wanted him to say grace? How does he feel as these thoughts enter his mind?

5. When Dale looks up to the door and sees Jack, what does Dale say to his son? How does Jack respond to his father?

6. The narrator explains that Dale Hawthorne "trades off his sorrow for the sorrows of others." What does he mean by this?

7. How does Jack's mother handle her son's death? How does she shoulder the care for her children and the farm?

8. Dale Hawthorne decides against suicide. Why does he do so? What does he do instead of killing himself?

9. How does Jack respond to Yegudkin's performance on the French horn? How is the performance described?

10. Where is Arcady Yegudkin from? How does he get to America? What is his story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jack's feelings for his father are complex. Discuss the array of emotions Jack has for his father at different times in the story, and support your discussion with examples.

Essay Topic 2

Who are Dale and Betty Hawthorne? What are they like before the accident and after? How does the death of their son affect them?

Essay Topic 3

Based on the various pieces of information and historical references, approximately when does this story take place? Justify your answer.

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