View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the stranger ask Will at the blacksmith's hut?

2. What does Old George thrust into Will's hand on Christmas Eve?

3. What does Will ask the two strangers when he meets them?

4. What does John Smith mean when he tells Will, "It is your privilege. Take hold of her mane where you can reach it, and you will see"?

5. While Will eats breakfast with John Smith and Martha, what appears in the clearing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the parallels between the Rider's black stallion and the white mare that Will commands?

2. Why is Merriman disgusted that Will calls the road he was on "Tramp's Alley"?

3. What is the importance of the Rider asking Will to break bread with him?

4. What role does Huntercombe Lane play in the second section, Midwinter's Day, of the novel?

5. What is the importance of the white mare appearing to Will in the woods?

6. In what ways does the author imply that the iron ornament is important?

7. What are the end results of Will's actions at the manor?

8. What does the Walker mean when he states, "It's so heavy...I've been carrying it for so long."

9. In the opening chapter, Midwinter's Eve, how does the author use Mr. Dawson to foreshadow events that happen to Will later that night?

10. Why is the Rider unable to take the Walker and Will?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how the Rider embodies the villain archetype and how his actions are typical of villains in fantasy novels.

Essay Topic 2

How does Will embody the hero archetype in the fantasy novel, The Dark is Rising?

Essay Topic 3

Why is the Dark associated with the cold and with rooks?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,352 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample