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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. What is Harv Kline's favorite time of year?
2. What were prohibited in the powder magazine of Revolutionary War ships?
3. According to the novel, how much time elapses between the spark setting off the "sweet" rifle and Richard Allen Mesinger's death?
4. What is Richard Allen Mesinger doing at the moment he is killed?
5. How old is Richard Allen Mesington when he stops believing in Santa Claus?
Short Essay Questions
1. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being above Harv Kline's fireplace.
2. Is the "sweet" rifle a work of art?
3. Sarah steals the rifle from John Byam as he dies; does Tilson steal the rifle from Harv Kline?
4. 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?
5. Why does the novel spend so much time characterizing Richard Allen Mesinger?
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. Was the "sweet" rifle fundamentally different from other rifles of the period?
8. Throughout the 217 year history of the "sweet" rifle, what is it functionally used for?
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. 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
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?
Essay Topic 2
Describe the processes that Cornish McManus used to manufacture the rifle.
Essay Topic 3
Describe the early life and the family life of Richard Allen Mesinger. Why is it important within the narrative that Mesinger is a likable and typical teenager?
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This section contains 780 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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