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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. Why does Harv Kline have candles on display for Christmas?

2. When Richard Allen Mesington is four years old, he has an exciting experience doing what?

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

4. What were prohibited in the powder magazine of Revolutionary War ships?

5. What does Mr. Mesington do for a living?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is Harv Kline characterized in the novel?

3. Describe the early life of Richard Allen Mesinger .

4. What experiences does Mesinger have with firearms in his life?

5. Sarah steals the rifle from John Byam as he dies; does Tilson steal the rifle from Harv Kline?

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

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. What message does the novel convey?

9. Who is the most sympathetic character in the novel, and why?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the process of loading a muzzle-loading rifle. Describe why John Byam loaded the rifle the way that he did.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the appearance of the rifle. Explain why it looks the way that it looks.

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 617 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample