View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Mama make Brother return to the table when he is trying to get outside to see the ibis?
(a) He is not finished eating.
(b) He has knocked over his chair and forgotten to excuse himself.
(c) His father was in the middle of saying something to him.
(d) He was rude to Doodle and she wants him to apologize.

2. What does the reader learn about Doodle from his story about Peter?
(a) Doodle secretly hates Brother.
(b) Doodle is frightened of going to school.
(c) Doodle is much smarter than Brother.
(d) Doodle has a vivid imagination.

3. When Brother asks "What are the words that can solder cracked pride?" (11), what is he comparing words to?
(a) A salesperson in a store.
(b) The paste that holds bricks together.
(c) The metal used in welding.
(d) A person in the army.

4. When Doodle smiles at Brother for the first time, how does Brother feel?
(a) Sad and angry.
(b) Suspicious and numb.
(c) Happy and excited.
(d) Confused and worried.

5. When the family sees Doodle struggling to bury the ibis, what is their response?
(a) They feel sad.
(b) They laugh at him.
(c) Daddy calls to Doodle to stop and come inside.
(d) Mama sends Brother out to help him.

6. In what year does Brother train Doodle?
(a) 1912.
(b) 1918.
(c) 1914.
(d) 1916.

7. What causes Brother to say that Doodle is a "burden in many ways" (3)?
(a) Doodle is getting too heavy for Brother to pull in the cart.
(b) Brother's friends make fun of Doodle.
(c) The doctor has made a long list of rules for taking care of Doodle.
(d) Doodle talks almost all the time.

8. Why does Doodle cry when Brother takes him to see the "only beauty" Brother knows (3)?
(a) Because his life is too hard.
(b) Because he has never seen flowers before.
(c) Because it is pretty.
(d) Because he loves Brother.

9. What is the first problem the family's crops have in the year that Brother is training Doodle?
(a) Insects.
(b) Drought.
(c) Frost.
(d) Floods.

10. Who is the author of "The Scarlet Ibis"?
(a) Robert Graves.
(b) James Hurst.
(c) Sara Teasdale.
(d) William Armstrong.

11. When Brother says that both he and Doodle believed in his "infallibility" (7), what does he mean that they believe?
(a) That Brother always succeeds.
(b) That Brother is kind.
(c) That Brother is a good Christian.
(d) That Brother can never do anything wrong.

12. What is the "caul" that Doodle is born with?
(a) A full head of hair.
(b) A piece of the sac that protected him before he was born.
(c) A hand that is curved like a hook.
(d) A red, bird-shaped birthmark.

13. Where are Doodle's cart and coffin in the time when this story is being told?
(a) They have been thrown away.
(b) In the front room of the house.
(c) Still in the loft in the barn.
(d) They were buried with Doodle.

14. In the first sentence of the story, what meaning does "clove" have in "It was in the clove of seasons" (1)?
(a) A dried flower bud that is also a spice.
(b) The space between the two parts of an animal's hoof.
(c) The past tense of "cleave."
(d) One section of a bulb of garlic.

15. Just before they notice the ibis, what does Daddy say he is expecting?
(a) A larger cotton crop than usual.
(b) A storm.
(c) A letter from a neighbor who is fighting in the war.
(d) A delicious dessert.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who uses a book to find the name of the ibis?

2. What are Doodle's last words?

3. When Brother finally decides to treat Doodle like a brother, where does he take him for the first time?

4. Who claims that dead birds are bad luck?

5. What is an "ibis"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 616 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample