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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where did the local Indian work for many summers cutting wood, according to the narrator in Chapter 3?
(a) The North Carry Hotel.
(b) Mrs. Butter's Boarding House.
(c) The Blueberry Bed and Breakfast.
(d) The Great Western Hotel.

2. What color does the green sea turn in the excerpt from Chapter 4 called "Homo Borealis"?
(a) White.
(b) Gray.
(c) Red.
(d) Black.

3. The narrator says in Chapter 3, "My blood is a Roman plow." What literary device is used in this excerpt?
(a) Assonance.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Simile.

4. When Howard goes into the woods to look for his father in Chapter 3, what pond does he pass?
(a) Willow Pond.
(b) Merced Pond.
(c) Birch Pond.
(d) Tagg Pond.

5. Where does Howard stop and sleep on his way to visit George in 1953?
(a) Indiana.
(b) Rhode Island.
(c) Connecticut.
(d) New Hampshire.

6. The Zulu people that are mentioned in the novel are an ethnic group from where?
(a) Southern Africa.
(b) South America.
(c) Northern Africa.
(d) Eastern Europe.

7. How does Howard describe his father's mental deterioration in Chapter 3?
(a) It seemed that one day my father awoke and was no longer himself.
(b) It seemed to me as if my father simply faded away.
(c) It seemed like my father became electrified.
(d) It seemed as though my father just vanished completely in one breath.

8. The narrator says in Chapter 4, "The escapement on a clock consists of a collar on a pinion, called" what?
(a) An electron.
(b) A pallet.
(c) A privet.
(d) A nucleus.

9. What historical figure is Howard studying in history when his father goes to the meeting regarding his mental deterioration in Chapter 3?
(a) Napoleon Bonaparte.
(b) Ben Franklyn.
(c) George Washington.
(d) Henry VIII.

10. Where does Megan go to tend to her ill mother in 1953?
(a) Cleveland.
(b) Boston.
(c) New York.
(d) Pittsburgh.

11. What shoes does Howard wear when he goes into the woods to look for his father after he's been taken away in Chapter 3?
(a) His mother's slippers.
(b) His rain boots.
(c) His brother's sneakers.
(d) His father's boots.

12. What kind of wood was Howard's father's canoe made from that he recalls in Chapter 3?
(a) Birch.
(b) Ash.
(c) Pine.
(d) Willow.

13. What newspaper did George once read regularly at the kitchen table at lunchtime, according to the narrator in Chapter 4?
(a) The New York Times.
(b) The Chicago Tribune.
(c) The Wall Street Journal.
(d) The Montreal Herald.

14. What religion is Megan's mother said to be in Chapter 4?
(a) Mormon.
(b) Jewish.
(c) Baptist.
(d) Catholic.

15. Where is the bank branch located that Edward Billings manages?
(a) Salem.
(b) Enon.
(c) Boston.
(d) Winston.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Howard's mother cook for breakfast the morning after Howard's father has been taken away in Chapter 3?

2. What alias does Howard Crosby take on when he moves to Philadelphia?

3. The narrator says of George as he dies in Chapter 4, "His bloodless legs were hard like wood." What literary device is used in this sentence?

4. What book is Howard reading on the night he dies?

5. What word used to describe the Indian in Chapter 3 means relating to a former or more primitive type?

(see the answer keys)

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