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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is Richard Allen Mesinger shot?

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

3. How does Richard Allen Mesington refer to the first bear he sees as an infant?

4. According to the novel, what is the muzzle velocity of a black powder rifle's projectile?

5. When the Mesington family moves away from Willow, Colorado, what state do they move to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the early life of Richard Allen Mesinger .

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

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

4. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being above Harv Kline's fireplace.

5. 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?

6. Was the "sweet" rifle fundamentally different from other rifles of the period?

7. Tim Harrow owns the "sweet" rifle for a few days. He buys it, wraps it up in cloth, and trades it away a few days later. As a character, Harrow has no narrative function beyond transporting the rifle from point A to point B, just like Sarah, an editor, an antique dealer, and a gun collector. Yet the novel spends a significant portion of its space developing Harrow as a character. Why?

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

9. Imagine that you came into possession of the "sweet" rifle instead of Tilson. What would you do with the rifle if you did not know its history? What would you do with the rifle if you did know its history?

10. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being accidentally discharged.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In today's terms, John Byam would be called a sniper. Discuss the role of snipers in today's military actions. Is the role of a sniper somehow immoral? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Of the major characters in the novel (Cornish McManus, John Byam, Tim Harrow, Harv Kline, and Richard Allen Mesinger), are any of them heroic? If not, why not. If so, who is heroic and why do you consider them heroic?

Essay Topic 3

Why does the novel "need" to have the accidental discharge come from an old muzzle-loading, black powder rifle? Wouldn't the novel work just as well with an AK-47 hanging above Kline's mantel? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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