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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. Where do Doodle and Brother imagine living when they are older?

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

3. Just before they notice the ibis, what does Doodle contradict Brother about?

4. What does Mama notice about the ibis?

5. How old is Doodle when he begins to try to move himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. When "Brother" dances around with Aunt Nicey to celebrate Doodle walking, what happens, and why it is it ironic?

2. What does the narrator make Doodle do in the barn loft, and how does Doodle react?

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

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

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

6. What future do "Brother" and Doodle imagine for themselves at Old Woman Sawmp?

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

8. How old is Doodle when he learns to walk, and why is his age relevant to him learning to walk?

9. What changes in the narrator's life when Daddy makes Doodle a cart?

10. What is the family's reaction to Doodle when he is born?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay in which you analyze the importance of Doodle's birth "in a caul" (1). What does this represent to various characters, what does it represent in Western culture, and how do these representations have significance for the role that Doodle will eventually play in the family's life? Be sure to cite in MLA format any outside sources that you use, and offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Choose one symbol from the story and write an essay that analyzes its use: be sure to consider the descriptions associated with the symbol, the mood it is intended to create, and its role in the plot as you make a claim about the symbol's meaning and function in the story.

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