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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following describes Ownby's demeanor while being questioned by the welfare agent?
(a) All of these.
(b) Obstinate.
(c) Vague.
(d) Non-receptive.

2. Why does Gifford want to see Sylder?
(a) To get a confession out of him.
(b) To release him.
(c) To beat him up for socking him on the jaw.
(d) To read him his rights.

3. Where is Ownby sent after being released from jail?
(a) A medical hospital.
(b) Home.
(c) His sister's home.
(d) A mental asylum.

4. What does Sylder tell John Wesley about Gifford?
(a) He was bluffing John Wesley.
(b) He is a very dangerous man.
(c) He is an idiot.
(d) He will be back to arrest them.

5. Where does Ownby position himself to get off good shots at the officers?
(a) Behind a tractor.
(b) Behind a chair.
(c) Under his stove.
(d) In a shed.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Sylder lose part of his toe?

2. What does the orchard keeper notice about the peach pit when he visits it?

3. Why is Ownby going to be arrested?

4. For what was John Wesley arrested?

5. What do the police choose not to reveal to Mildred Rattner about her husband?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Sylder finally apprehended for bootlegging?

2. Why does McCarthy wait until this point in the story to reveal the orchard keeper's formal name?

3. What happens to the Rattners by the end of the story?

4. What sense of foreboding does Sylder have as he tries to fall asleep?

5. Describe the activities of the wildcat as it tries to find dry quarters as well as something to eat.

6. How else might the irony of Sylder and John Wesley's friendship be interpreted?

7. What information does John Wesley give to Gifford and what does Sylder say about it?

8. How does Gifford put pressure on John Wesley to give up information about Sylder?

9. Describe the conversation in which Ownby gives John Wesley advice about his life.

10. How does John Wesley manage to get into the mental asylum to visit Ownby?

(see the answer keys)

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