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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 term does Red use to describe Samar?

2. What is NOT an action mentioned by Red when they consider what it might be like not to have roots?

3. On which part of Samar's body does Bongo begin to sit?

4. The narrator states that trees talk only to humans who exhibit which trait?

5. According to Red, what percentage of a fully grown tree is actually alive at any given moment?

Short Essay Questions

1. At what three sights does Samar often gaze as she sits beneath Red's boughs?

2. How do Red and Bongo act as character foils for one another?

3. What elements of magical realism are present within the narrative of Wishtree?

4. Discuss an instance when Applegate uses a simile to send a message about time.

5. Red explains that hollows in trees occur for all sorts of reasons. Name five.

6. What happens every year on Wishing Day?

7. In what parts of the world do people observe a tradition involving a wishing tree?

8. What aspect of Red's provision of shelter is unprecedented the year that is depicted in the narrative?

9. Describe Red's several hollows, explaining their origins and their benefits.

10. What kinds of illustrations are included in the first seven chapters of the novel and for what purpose?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Wishtree and one of the novel's main messages. How does Applegate make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

What messages does Applegate send to the audience about the themes of isolation and outreach?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Wishtree from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

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