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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. Who did John meet outside the hardware store?

2. In what year was Sandy born?

3. In Chapter 3, what did Roy berate his son over?

4. What was the name of the local tavern?

5. In Chapter 4, when Sandy talks about Edith crying, how many more times does he say she would cry in her lifetime?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Ada and Hannah become friends?

2. Who approaches Sandy Roscoe at the beginning of the book, and why?

3. What complaint did Roy make about John in Chapter 3?

4. What does Sandy say about the article that the Denver Post publishes?

5. Why did John suspect that the barbed wire may be Roy's and not his own?

6. What does the reporter ask Sandy, which prompts Sandy to kick him off his land?

7. Why did Edith keep gum in her apron pockets?

8. What accident occurred one day while the Goodnoughs and John were bringing in the harvest?

9. Who did John meet and marry after Edith refused his proposal?

10. What did the doctor do to help Roy, and what was the lasting effect of his accident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationship between Edith and John. What did they feel for one another? Why were they unable to get married? How did this affect Edith? How did this affect John?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the narrator of the novel, Sandy. What are his defining character traits? Is he a reliable narrator? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author of the novel "The Tie That Binds." What other works is Haruf known for? How do his other novels compare to "The Tie That Binds" in term of tone and style?

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