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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 symptom does Imogene tell the school nurse her brother Ollie has been displaying?

2. What part does Alice tell the narrator that she hopes the narrator gets again because the narrator is so good at the part?

3. How do the narrator and her little brother Charlie feel about being in the Christmas pageant?

4. What proclamation does Mother make about Charlie's comment about his favorite part of Sunday School?

5. The narrator states that Elmer, the minister's son, has always traditionally taken what role within the pageant?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does Father tell Mother he does not want to attend this year's Christmas pageant?

2. How does the author employ foreshadowing at the end of Chapter Two?

3. Discuss the author's use of vivid imagery within the scene of the Herdmans' first time at Sunday school.

4. How does Mother at first feel about coordinating the Christmas pageant?

5. Describe one particular instance of the author's use of humor and examine its effect on the reader.

6. What simile does the narrator use to describe the way in which the Herdman children move through Woodrow Wilson School?

7. For what purpose does the author use the allusion to "a day of rest" (21) in Chapter Two?

8. How does the author go about portraying the Herdmans as unteachable?

9. What is the symbolism of the Beware of Cat sign in the Herdmans' front yard?

10. What evidence is presented in Chapter One regarding the dire nature of the Herdman family's financial situation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How might Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever be classified as a coming-of-age story?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and one of the novel's main messages. How does the author make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help the author get across one main message of the novel?

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