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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. What does the Old Man say every year when he and his family leave the County Fair?

2. What happens to Grover after his confrontation with Delbert in Story One?

3. When the Old Man gets himself a beer at the fair, what does he get for his older son?

4. How does the Old Man feel about the farming exhibits at the County Fair?

5. Does the narrator tell his friends about his training and his intentions to beat Scut Farkas?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Old Man handle all the problems the family encounters en route to Michigan?

2. Where do the Bumpuses make their illegal liquor?

3. How does the author lead the narrator into telling the story of his top-spinning battle with Scut Farkas?

4. What happens to the much anticipated Easter ham in Story One?

5. Explain how the narrator prepares for his spinning tops battle against Farkas.

6. What are the Mariah and the Wolf?

7. How does the house next door to the Shepherds transform after the Bumpus family moves in?

8. Summarize how Mother prepares the traditional Easter ham.

9. Describe the yard of the Bumpus family.

10. Describe some of the interesting sights the four members of the Shepherd family see while they are together at the County Fair.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The book's time line covers the narrator's childhood and teen years. How does the narrator change, develop, and grow from the beginning to the end of the book? In what ways do the stories evolve? In what instances does the author seem to act about the same as a teenager as he did as a child?

Essay Topic 2

1. Describe the personality and any salient character traits of each of the following: Randy, the narrator, Mother, and the Old Man.

2. How do the personalities and character traits of these individuals complement each other in ways that make their family function together?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the narrator's love interests: Josephine, Daphne, and Wanda. Which one is best suited for him, if any? What important life lessons does he learn from his experiences with each?

(see the answer keys)

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