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. Who is Rachel?

2. How does the narrator characterize Josephine Pollit?

3. How does the narrator characterize the Pollit children?

4. Who is Henny's favorite?

5. Why does Henny refuse to write to Sam?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Henny like about visiting Washington D.C.?

2. What news does Jo bring when she comes?

3. Compare and contrast Louie with Henny's brother Barry.

4. How does the narrator characterize Sam's world view?

5. What do Louie and Nellie discuss when Henny and the children get to Monocacy?

6. What is Sam's relationship with Colonel Willets?

7. Describe Louie's visit to Mrs. Kydd's house.

8. What is the financial state of the Pollit household?

9. How do the two trips, to Harper's Ferry and to Monocacy, show us different sides of Louie's character?

10. Describe the trip to Washington D.C. to buy shoes for the children.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.

Essay Topic 2

Would you recommend 'The Man Who Loved Children'? For what purposes would you recommend 'The Man Who Loved Children', and to what kinds of readers would you not recommend it? What book would you recommend that would cover the same material or provide the same emotional experience in a different way?

Essay Topic 3

In what way is 'The Man Who Loved Children' an American book? In what ways is it not? How does the book define the American way of life, and how does the book fulfill its own definition? If it is not American, what is it? Does it lay out terms for what is not American as well?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample