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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 were the small boys called who hauled powder from the magazine to the cannon during the Revolutionary War?
(a) Sons of Guns
(b) Powder Monkeys
(c) Ship's Boys
(d) Swabs

2. Where is Richard Allen Mesinger shot?
(a) The forehead
(b) The heart
(c) In the British trenches
(d) Mexico

3. After John Byam, what act is never performed on the "sweet" rifle?
(a) Cleaning it up
(b) Selling it
(c) Checking to see if it is loaded
(d) Firing it

4. Why does Mrs. Kline put candles on the mantle?
(a) To heat up the "sweet" rifle
(b) To obscure Mr. Kline's velvet Elvis painting
(c) She's celebrating Halloween
(d) She's trying to burn down the house

5. For what did sailing ships in the Revolutionary War use black power?
(a) To cook meals
(b) As a fuel in the engine
(c) To charge their cannon
(d) They didn't use blackpowder onboard sailing ships

Short Answer Questions

1. When does Richard Allen Mesinger die?

2. What does Richard Allen Mesington do as a small child that frightens his parents?

3. How does Richard Allen Mesington get along with Harv Kline?

4. From what ailment did Richard Allen Mesington suffer as an infant?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What happens to the adults that survive the accidental death of Richard Allen Mesinger?

3. Describe Richard Allen Mesinger's early teenage life.

4. What does Richard Allen Mesinger think about his neighbor Harv Kline's antique gun?

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

6. 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?

7. Describe Richard Allen Mesinger's academic performance.

8. Tim Harrow is characterized as a fringe "crazy" person; the narrative openly mocks him. What actions does he perform in the novel that would make you shun him in the real world?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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