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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the Tiflin family learn that Mrs. Tiflin's father will be coming to visit?

2. What topic does Grandfather bring up during his first dinner at the Tiflin ranch?

3. When Jody finally brings Grandfather his drink, where does he sit?

4. Why does Grandfather hate the ocean?

5. What time is it when Jody first leaves the barn after the horse's birth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A theme throughout _The Red Pony_ is Jody's transition from boyhood to manhood. Choose one particular moment when you think this transition officially happens, making sure to use quotations from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

Much of Jody's energy in Chapter 4 is focused on asking questions of his grandfather about his past and his past adventures. Discuss why Steinbeck focuses so much on this and what it shows about Jody's character as the novel reaches its conclusion. Make sure to use quotations from the text to support your positions.

Essay Topic 3

While _The Red Pony_ does not have many characters, the characters it does have are very complex and complicated. Choose one character and discuss 1) why you think this character is the *most* complicated character of the text and 2) what literary devices Steinbeck uses to convey this character's complicated nature to the reader.

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This section contains 302 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample