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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. How old does Russell believe Pearl Nearing is on the first day of school?

2. How old was Russell's mother when she married his dad?

3. What rural district did Eugene Hammon come from?

4. What Roosevelt child does Tansy say keeps a garter snake?

5. Who gets a whipping that fall from Tansy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Eugene Hammond send to the school in Chapter 13?

2. What does Russell think about Charlie's appearance on the first day of school?

3. What is going on when Russell, his father, and Lloyd come to the house and hear music?

4. Why does Russell think his father invited Eugene to the hog butchering, and why did his father invite Eugene?

5. How does Tansy soothe Little Britches when she opens a drawer in Tansy's desk and finds a snake?

6. Where does Mr. Culver take Russell Saturday night and why?

7. How well does Eugene Hammond do at the hog butchering?

8. What does Tansy tell Russell to do for J.W. when they get home and why?

9. Who helps Russell with J.W. when J.W. encounters a porcupine?

10. What happens to J.W. at the Tarbox place?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Idioms are words that have a figurative, rather than a literal meaning. How are idioms used in The Teacher’s Funeral to help characters communicate? How do idioms help create word pictures and mental images for readers in a concise manner? How do idioms help readers understand characters, emotions, and ideas?

Essay Topic 2

In The Teacher’s Funeral, some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the storyline? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

Essay Topic 3

A simile is a figure of speech that is used to make comparisons between things. How does the use of similes help readers comprehend concepts? How does the use of similes make the writing more interesting? What purpose do similes serve in The Teacher’s Funeral?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,046 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample