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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. When Rip is tired from hunting, he lies down on a knoll. What is he lying on?

2. What happens to Rip as a result of drinking the strangers' liquor?

3. What causes Rip to finally start for home after he realizes that he will not be able to find the strange men again?

4. Rip is surprised by the "singularity" of the stranger's appearance (36). What kind of appearance is this?

5. Why does Rip hurry over to the man he sees on the mountainside?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the man in the mountains want Rip's help with, and how does he communicate this?

2. When Rip reenters the village, what changes does he notice before he gets to his house?

3. When Rip wakes up in the mountains, what changes does he immediately notice?

4. What two things does Rip at first find odd about the stranger in the mountains?

5. What do the men in the amphitheater remind Rip of, and what is this meant to signify?

6. What is Wolf's reaction to the stranger in the mountains, and how does it ironically relate to what happens upon Rip's return to the village?

7. What two things does Rip find the most unusual about the men in the amphitheater?

8. What noise does Rip hear as he and the stranger make their way up the mountain, and what does the noise later turn out to be?

9. Explain what the natural "amphitheater" is and how Rip and the stranger reach it.

10. As Rip tries to retrace his steps from the night before, what changes does he find on the mountainside itself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the thematic purpose of including Rip's son and grandson in the story. Be sure to use textual evidence to defend your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Explain how Irving uses diction, detail, and figurative language to make the Catskill Mountains almost equivalent to another character in this story. Be sure to use textual evidence to defend your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the use of stories attributed to indigenous cultures in the "Postscript." Be sure to use textual evidence to defend your claims, and if you use outside sources, be sure to cite them in MLA format.

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This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample