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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. Josiah Gillanders, for thirty years has been

2. Ishmael does not feel his mother can understand his

3. Giving the Imadas a ride home in the snow, Ishmael learns that

4. Ishmael goes to the Coast Guard station intending to look at

5. Alvin Hooks' witness, Dr. Sterling Whitman, is a

Short Essay Questions

1. What scenario has prosecutor, Alvin Hooks, cooked up to try to bolster his case against Kabuo?

2. What does Guterson mean when he says that, "...the prosecutor, knew well the value of a Susan Marie Heine."

3. Why do you think Ishmael does not tell his mother about the records he found at the Coast Guard office?

4. What new information does Hatsue provide that sheds a new light on the incident involving Carl Heine?

5. Why did Kabuo and Hatsue not inform the Sheriff of what they said really happened on the night of Carl Heine's death?

6. What is peculiar about islanders and their relationships?

7. Why does Moran suspect the blow to Carl Heine's head was from a kendo stick?

8. Describe Ishmael's experience as he views the devastation from the storm, the sunken docks and ravaged town. What does it mean?

9. Why does the author refer more than once to the smell of snow?

10. What is it that keeps Alexander Van Ness from agreeing to convict Kabuo Miyamoto?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Where in our country is the largest concentration of strawberry farming? Research and write an essay on strawberry farming in America. What is the perfect climate and soil for strawberry farming? Is the farming still primarily done by workers of a different nationality? What is the percentage of strawberries that are imported into our country compared with what we grow domestically?

Essay Topic 2

Research and write an in-depth essay about the Japanese internment camps in the US during World War II. If possible, find someone to interview who has some childhood memories of the experience and interview him or her. Has the US, in your opinion, reconsidered its decision to place people in camps when their native country is at war with us? Has it reconsidered the decisions that were made back then? Is there a general consensus about the advisability of such a program? If possible, include some photos.

Essay Topic 3

At one point in this story, Ishmael feels a certain strange fondness for his memories of the very worst moments of his life, as well as for the sense of chaos around him. This phenomenon has surfaced from other soldiers who have been at the front lines of battle. At the library, look find the book entitled "The World Within War" by Gerald Linderman. In Chapter 6, Linderman describes what may seem barbaric to some, but what may be familiar to some shell-shocked soldiers -- a certain delight in destruction. Read this chapter and compare with Guterman's description of Ishmael Chambers in Chapter 30 of "Snow Falling on Cedars." Teach your readers about this rather astonishing concept.

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