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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. What does Harv Kline say after the "sweet" rifle accidentally discharges?
(a) "Take that..." (p. 95)
(b) "What--" (p. 95)
(c) He curses
(d) "Bang!" (p. 95)

2. About when were Harv Kline's two children born?
(a) 1776 and 1778
(b) 1993 and 1995
(c) 1865 and 1867
(d) 1982 and 1984

3. What were prohibited in the powder magazine of Revolutionary War ships?
(a) Rifles
(b) Lanterns
(c) Women
(d) Smoking

4. When Richard Allen Mesington is four years old, he has an exciting experience doing what?
(a) Riding on a backhoe while it works
(b) Hunting with his father
(c) Riding in a mobile home
(d) Shooting a rifle

5. How old is Richard Allen Mesington when his family buys their first television?
(a) Fourteen
(b) Ten
(c) Twenty
(d) Only a few weeks

Short Answer Questions

1. Where was Richard Allen Mesington born?

2. Where is Richard Allen Mesinger shot?

3. According to the novel, why does the black powder in the "sweet" rifle remain explosive after hundreds of years?

4. How many close friends does Richard Allen Mesington have during the first few years of his life?

5. What actually ignites the black powder in the "sweet" rifle as it hangs in Harv Kline's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. The novel summarizes the life that Richard Allen Mesinger "would" have had if he had not been killed. Is this a valid narrative technique?

2. Describe Richard Allen Mesinger's academic performance.

3. How is Harv Kline characterized in the novel?

4. What happens when the rifle accidentally discharges above Harv Kline's fireplace?

5. How many people own the "sweet" rifle?

6. Describe the several career paths that Mesinger contemplates during his early life.

7. Is the "sweet" rifle a work of art?

8. The novel openly mocks Tim Harrow's personal philosophy that draws from firearms and American history, the United States Constitution, and Christianity. Do you think that these sources of information are suitable for mockery?

9. Throughout the 217 year history of the "sweet" rifle, what is it functionally used for?

10. Why does the novel spend so much time characterizing Richard Allen Mesinger?

(see the answer keys)

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