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. How do both George and Rose change, regarding supper?

2. What is a reason given for why Johnny drinks?

3. What attracts Johnny and Rose to Beech?

4. What is the nickname for the train on which the men plan to load the steers?

5. What is included in Peter’s scrapbook?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Phil dislike alcohol?

2. How does the narrator describe the town of Beech in Chapter I?

3. How is George kind to Rose in Chapters IV and V?

4. How does Phil's behavior in college affect George?

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

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

7. How might one describe the brothers, Phil and George?

8. What is known about the Burbank ranch in the first section (Chapters I-III)?

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

10. Why does Phil feel let down by their twenty-fifth cattle drive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The setting of this story is a challenge in so many ways. How is the setting described? How does it affect those who live there? How does it also affect the relationships between the characters? In what ways does the author connect the personalities and relationships between the characters to the landscape around them?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter IV, the narrator describes the keen eyes of Phil. How does the narrator describe Phil's eyes? What can be learned about Phil from this? Do humans seems to fall into the same animal category, based on what is said by the narrator? Why or why not? What might this say about Phil's ability to understand people?

Essay Topic 3

The haves versus the have-nots is an important idea in The Power of the Dog. How does this disparity in assets affect the relationships between the characters? How are they all - the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor - never truly happy? Why? What is missing from all of their lives?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 923 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample