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

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

3. When Doodle smiles at Brother for the first time, how does Brother feel?

4. Who is the only person who does not expect Doodle to die soon after his birth?

5. On page 8, when Brother warns Doodle that he will be different from the other boys at school, what is Doodle's reply?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. When the boys are almost ready to show the family that Doodle can walk and they keep hinting that they have a big secret, what does Nicey tell them and what is its thematic significance?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you analyze the use of World War I as a background for this story. Explain how thematic motifs in this story are related to World War I and how the story is made richer by this association. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your claims, and if you use outside sources, cite them in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Hurst offers a great deal of foreshadowing in the opening of "The Scarlet Ibis." Write an essay in which you analyze the first five paragraphs' use of foreshadowing--identify elements of foreshadowing and explain what they predict, and how.

Essay Topic 3

Write a thesis-driven essay in which you analyze the setting of Old Woman Swamp. Consider questions like these: What events take place there? How do the boys feel while they are there? Why does it matter that it is a natural setting and that it is described as the only spot of beauty around them? Be sure to use textual evidence as support for your claims.

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This section contains 989 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample