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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, at the end of summer, does Brother start to push Doodle so hard in his "training" efforts?

2. What replaces the tree in the yard?

3. Where is the ibis perched?

4. What does Mama notice about the ibis?

5. What is "Doodle" short for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In what ways is the summer of 1918 hard on the family's crops?

3. What do Doodle and "Brother" do with the flowers at Old Woman Swamp?

4. How does "Brother" go about teaching Doodle to walk?

5. What changes in Doodle's living situation when he learns to crawl?

6. When Doodle learns to walk, where does the family put his cart, and why is this symbolically appropriate?

7. How does Doodle get his nickname?

8. Where is the grindstone and what is its symbolic meaning?

9. How does Daddy react to the hurricane, and what emotions do his reactions cause in his sons?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you consider the effect that story structure has on the reader's understanding of theme. Think about how this story would be different if "Brother" told the story as it was happening or even immediately afterward. When you consider that "Brother" has had years to grow up and think about his actions towards Doodle, how does that impact your understanding of what his story means? Be sure to use textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you consider the significance of the stories that the two brothers tell one another. They often imagine their future, and sometimes they pass time by making up stories about imaginary worlds. What do these stories tell the reader about the characters and about their motives? Be sure to use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

"Brother" feels ashamed of Doodle because of Doodle's physical differences from the average boy that "Brother" knows at school. What other kinds of unnecessary shame do people feel about their relatives or friends, or about themselves, based on differences from what they think is "normal"? Choose one of these to write about--explain what the prejudice is, what it can cause people to do and feel, and why people should actually not be ashamed of this "difference." Cite all of your sources in MLA format.

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