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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 action eventually taken by a Herdman sibling is said by the narrator to be "the one great big sinful thing Alice" (66) had been hoping for?
2. In what location does Imogene ask the narrator how to check out a book from the library?
3. What element does the narrator name as keeping people from getting into the library basement undetected?
4. What does Imogene NOT threaten to do to Alice if Alice tries to play the part of Mary?
5. What does Mother tell Charlie when he says he does not want to be a shepherd and will become sick if she forces him?
Short Essay Questions
1. What evidence does the author provide for the conclusion that having the first meeting about the pageant after church is a poor decision?
2. What behaviors of the Herdman siblings indicate their keen interest in the subject of the Christmas story?
3. Discuss the significance of Mother's comment when she states to Father, "No, their chief instinct was to get Mary and the baby out of the barn. But even so, it was Herod they wanted to do away with, and Mary or Joseph. They picked out the right villain -- that must mean something" (50).
4. What connections does the author draw between the Herdmans and the Holy Family?
5. For what reasons does the pageant not have a real baby to play Jesus?
6. What does the narrator understand about the Herdman siblings that Alice does not?
7. In what ways does the author depict Father as a funny man?
8. How is foreshadowing employed within the last two sentences of Chapter Six?
9. How does the narrator's interaction with the Herdmans change the narrator's perspective of the Christmas story?
10. What kinds of transgressions do the Herdman siblings commit throughout the course of the pageant rehearsal period and how does the narrator know about these actions?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss how and why Barbara Robinson instills humanist messages within the narrative of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Essay Topic 2
What is the author's message regarding poverty in Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and what themes or symbols does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the author's choice to tell the story of Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever using the first person point-of-view. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are the author's intended and invoked effects on the reader?
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This section contains 1,519 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
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