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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 kinds of characters does Bobby encounter in the fishing cove?

2. Where is the house located that Bobby stays in during the summer?

3. What does fishing make easier to do according to the Old Man?

4. Who does Bobby think interferes with chores when he wants time alone?

5. How old is Bobby when the Old Man takes away his first gun?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Bobby's first experience on a boat.

2. How does the hunting group in Chapter 7 find and get the turkeys to come out?

3. Describe the camping trip preparations and arrival in Chapter 5.

4. Describe the difference between laziness and meditative loafing according to The Old Man.

5. Describe what Bobby shoots in Chapter 13.

6. Describe Bob's new gun that he receives in Chapter 1.

7. How does Bobby adapt and succeed at shooting a buck?

8. How does Bobby learn to shoot ducks in Chapter 3?

9. Describe the Old Man.

10. Describe Bobby's experience with the goat he purchases.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a brief character study of Bobby. What does he look like? What are his positive personality traits? What are some of his negative characteristics? What are his hopes and fears? What motivates him at this point in his life?

Essay Topic 2

Through hunting, Bobby learns important lessons about hard work, patience and perseverance. How is his natural skill revealed? What is important to Bobby as he hunts? What does he learn subsequently that alters the way he thinks and acts? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

The Old Man and the Boy is particularly effective in conveying meaning through powerful imagery. Powerful imagery establishes connections in the minds of readers with the story's characters and plot. Imagery is the picture we form in our minds of the story we read. It can involve, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, kinetic and kinesthetic. The author uses these imagery to translate words into a visual story that we can see and participate in within our minds. Describe the use of imagery in this novel.

(see the answer keys)

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