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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. According to the novel, why does the black powder in the "sweet" rifle remain explosive after hundreds of years?
2. What does Richard Allen Mesington do as a small child that frightens his parents?
3. When Richard Allen Mesington is eleven and twelve years old what is his favorite hobby?
4. What happened to Harv Kline after Richard Allen Mesinger's death?
5. When he is an infant, Richard Allen Mesington imitated which animal?
Short Essay Questions
1. Describe the chain of events that leads to the rifle being above Harv Kline's fireplace.
2. Why don't the Mesinger and the Kline children play together?
3. Describe the several career paths that Mesinger contemplates during his early life.
4. Do you think that Harv Kline feels he got a fair exchange with Tim Harrow?
5. The novel summarizes the life that Richard Allen Mesinger "would" have had if he had not been killed. Is this a valid narrative technique?
6. What does Richard Allen Mesinger think about his neighbor Harv Kline's antique gun?
7. Is the "sweet" rifle a work of art?
8. Describe Richard Allen Mesinger's academic performance.
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. Was the "sweet" rifle fundamentally different from other rifles of the period?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
When rifle kills British officers, who is doing the killing--Byam or the rifle? When the rifle kills Richard David Mesinger, who is doing the killing--Harv Kline or the rifle? Why are the two situations different? Compare and contrast.
Essay Topic 2
The novel infers the rifle has a will of its own--after killing Richard David Mesinger it sits in a gun cabinet "Waiting" (p. 105). Describe the narrative effect of this anthropomorphizing of the rifle. Why is the rifle treated like this?
Essay Topic 3
John Byam kills his first man when he shoots a British Officer who is about to hang one of Byam's friends. Byam doesn't spend any time thinking about his action before shooting the British Officer. Do you think that Byam made the right choice? Why or why not?
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This section contains 712 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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