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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 does Ivan draw with the black crayon?

2. Who is Bob?

3. Who gives Ivan his first crayon?

4. Who is Stella?

5. Where does Bob sleep?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mack give George money to buy new crayons for Julia?

2. What is a claw-stick?

3. Why do some visitors to the mall think Ivan is lonely?

4. How does Ivan's artwork differ from Julia's artwork?

5. Why does Bob avoid most humans?

6. What does Stella mean when she tells Ivan, "Old age is a powerful disguise"?

7. How does Ivan spend his days?

8. What are me-balls?

9. Why does Bob refer to poodles as "parasites"?

10. What does Ivan do when he is bored?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Ivan’s relationship with Julia. What do they have in common? How are they different? How does Julia help Ivan throughout the story?

Essay Topic 2

Ivan is the narrator of the story. Why do you think the author chose to have him tell the story instead of writing it from a human’s perspective? What do we learn from Ivan’s point of view that we might not learn had the story been told from a human’s point of view?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the use of “boxes” in the story. What types of boxes exist in Ivan’s world? What are their purposes? At the end of the story, is Ivan truly free or is he just living in a nicer box?

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