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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When is the story being told?
(a) Some years after the events of the story take place.
(b) In the winter, after Doodle dies.
(c) Immediately after the events of the story take place.
(d) At the end of Brother's life.

2. After the incident where Brother makes Doodle touch the casket, what does Doodle cry out over and over?
(a) "Don't leave me."
(b) "Am I going to die?"
(c) "I hate you."
(d) "Why?"

3. What is Doodle's real name?
(a) James Hurst.
(b) William Armstrong.
(c) Robert Graves.
(d) It is never given.

4. How does the ibis die?
(a) Daddy shoots it.
(b) It dies of natural causes.
(c) One of the family's cats attacks it.
(d) Brother shoots it.

5. How does the family react when the boys reveal that Doodle can walk?
(a) They worry about the danger it puts Doodle in.
(b) They refuse to believe it is really happening.
(c) They are overjoyed.
(d) They insist that the family all pray together.

6. What draws the family's attention to the ibis?
(a) The loud reaction of their chickens.
(b) A croaking noise.
(c) The sound of its wings.
(d) A flash of red.

7. What Biblical event does Aunt Nicey mention when the boys tell the family that they have a big surprise for them?
(a) Adam and Eve eating the apple.
(b) Noah being swallowed by a "great fish."
(c) The Flood.
(d) The Resurrection.

8. What does Brother say causes him to run home during the storm?
(a) Fear.
(b) Disappointment.
(c) Cruelty.
(d) Shame.

9. How does Brother respond to Doodle's love for natural beauty?
(a) He gets Doodle art supplies so that he can paint flowers.
(b) He gets Doodle a book full of pictures of flowers.
(c) He takes Doodle to Old Woman Swamp over and over.
(d) He decides to teach Doodle to swim.

10. When Mama tells Brother that she is afraid that Doodle might not be "all there," what is Brother's response (2)?
(a) He asks if that is what the doctor said.
(b) He decides to kill Doodle.
(c) He says that he will love Doodle anyway.
(d) He tells her that they will have to wait and see.

11. What literary techniques are shown in the phrase, "[I]t lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers" (9)?
(a) Imagery, foreshadowing, and simile.
(b) Imagery, metaphor, and allegory.
(c) Symbolism, flashback, and euphemism.
(d) Metaphor, allusion, and symbolism.

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

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

14. On page 8, when Brother warns Doodle that he will be different from the other boys at school, what is Doodle's reply?
(a) "I will still have you."
(b) "Does it make any difference?"
(c) "Everyone is different, somehow."
(d) "I won't go to school, then."

15. What is the narrative point of view of "The Scarlet Ibis"?
(a) First person.
(b) Third person omniscient.
(c) Third person limited.
(d) Second person.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Doodle say when Brother tells him he is going to teach him to walk?

2. When it is clear that the training plan is harming Doodle, why does Brother continue?

3. Why does Brother treat Doodle roughly when he first starts taking him outside in his cart?

4. What is the swamp near their house called?

5. What does the doctor say about Doodle trying to move around?

(see the answer keys)

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