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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Brother says, of the hope they had when they started training, "Success lay at the end of summer like a pot of gold" (7), what should the reader understand from this simile?
(a) Their goal is dangerous and they should stop.
(b) Their goal is worth more than gold, to them.
(c) Their goal is to achieve something magical.
(d) Their goal is an illusion that they will never reach.

2. At first, Daddy is upset by the hurricane and looks defeated. What does he do that makes Brother and Doodle think that things will be all right?
(a) Jumps into a puddle in the field and pretends to swim.
(b) Scoops Doodle up and dances with him in the rain.
(c) Says a prayer and tells them God will take care of them.
(d) Raises his fist and curses the weather and the Republican party.

3. Where do Doodle and Brother imagine living when they are older?
(a) New York City.
(b) In a treehouse.
(c) Old Woman Swamp.
(d) In a houseboat.

4. What does Brother know is covering the casket that he makes Doodle touch?
(a) Poison.
(b) Spiderwebs.
(c) Cockroaches.
(d) Bird droppings.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Who is the only person who does not like the name "Doodle"?

3. What is "Brother's" first reaction to Doodle?

4. Who gives Doodle his nickname?

5. When Brother picks Doodle up, trying to teach him to walk, and Doodle falls to the ground, what does Doodle say?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which character says "And bless the Pearsons, whose boy Joe was lost at Belleau Wood" (8) and what does this comment foreshadow?

2. When Doodle and "Brother" take up telling one another stories to pass the time, what story does Doodle tell?

3. How does Doodle die?

4. When the narrator finally realizes that he will have to take Doodle everywhere he goes, where does he take Doodle, and what is Doodle's reaction?

5. When they are eating lunch on the day the ibis appears, what argument are the brothers having?

6. When the family get excited and try to hug "Brother" for teaching Doodle to walk, how does "Brother" react, and why?

7. How does Doodle get his nickname?

8. When Mama tells "Brother" that Doodle might be mentally disabled, what does "Brother" plan to do, and what changes his mind?

9. What images of death does the story open with?

10. When school is getting closer, at the end of the summer, how is Doodle doing with his physical training, and what is the result?

(see the answer keys)

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