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 is included in Peter’s scrapbook?

2. How does Johnny feel about delivering his own son?

3. Why does George matter-a-factly reprimand Phil at the end of Chapter III?

4. How does Rose respond when she learns she will be playing the piano for the governor and his wife?

5. How old is Phil at the start of the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do others feel about Phil's intelligence?

2. What is significant about the cattle drive in the first section (Chapters I-III)?

3. What makes both George and Rose reluctant to come home to the ranch?

4. How does Peter feel about his new life in Herndon?

5. Why does Phil dislike alcohol?

6. How does George's behavior change when he begins courting Rose?

7. How are Phil and George different from those around them?

8. What are a couple things that may have turned Johnny to drink?

9. What bothers George about Phil?

10. What does the narrator say about Phil's eyes in Chapter IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Phil sees Rose's unusual floral arrangement, he realizes that she may be more dangerous than he once thought. What does he mean by this? How might she be dangerous or threatening to Phil? How does Phil fear her? How does this show in his behavior towards her?

Essay Topic 2

Phil's death is sudden, but the question is, is it surprising? Had you predicted Phil's death at the hands of Peter? Why or why not? Are there certain aspects of his death that are shocking or surprising? Why or why not? Why might the author have chosen to remove Phil from the picture by having him murdered rather than in another way? How does this choice to murder him affect the story as a whole?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story Phil feels like a loner. Early on in the story, he cannot quite pinpoint why. How does his understanding of himself develop throughout the story? How does the understanding of oneself affect him? How can the reader relate to this deeper understanding of oneself and the struggles that come with it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample