View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What breed of dog is Marker?

2. What is the first thing the Lady says when she finally arises from her sleeping place?

3. Who attacks Dick's cat, after he kills the Great Rat?

4. What gift does Fitzwarren accept from Dick?

5. What disease does Aramis contract in the spring?

Short Essay Questions

1. What trip does Whittington say he must take?

2. What is Ben's plan to stay with his class?

3. What proposition does Sir Louis have for Dick?

4. What causes the ship to turn back after reaching Palermo?

5. What does the tabby from down the road bring to the barn?

6. What does Ben think, when he observes the special reading lesson?

7. Why does Don think the special ed reading program might be good for Ben?

8. How does Bernie react to finding the new animals in the barn after the livestock auction?

9. What does Mary Green look like?

10. What women does the book Sir Louis gives Dick say are the most beautiful in the world?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the danger and trials the characters go through in the novel.

1) What role do danger and trials play in Dick Whittington's life? What does danger teach him about the world?

2) What role does danger play in the animal world in the barn? Why is danger a part of life?

3) What dangers and trials do Abby and Ben face? How are the dangers they face different from those of the animals and of Dick Whittington?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss love in the novel.

1) What is Dick Whittington's experience of love? How does he fall in love, and how does love affect him?

2) What different kinds of love are in the novel? How is romantic love different from parental love, the love of siblings, or the love of friendship?

3) What is the Lady's experience of love? How does love affect her?

Essay Topic 3

The central characters of the novel are animals. Discuss this aspect of the story.

1) How are the animal characters in the novel similar to human beings? How are they non-human?

2) Why does the author choose talking animals as central characters? What do these animals show the reader about humanity and life as a human?

3) How is Dick Whittington's cat portrayed differently than the other animal characters? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 808 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample