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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 Jody admit to eating, which he believes has caused his upset stomach?

2. What unusual animal does the Baxter family have drying in their smoke house?

3. Who is the only person that the Forrester men feel comfortable sharing their grief with?

4. How many babies did Penny Baxter and his wife bury before Jody was born?

5. What baby animal does Jody see while he is running to fetch the doctor?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Baxter family feel about the need to have a watering well?

2. What plan does Jody concoct to persuade his parents that he is mature enough to take on the fawn as a pet?

3. What reaction does Jody have when Old Slewfoot kills the Baxter family's pregnant sow?

4. What does Jody do in the middle of the night after Old Slewfoot has been killed and everyone has fallen asleep?

5. What happens when Jody goes swimming at Grandma Hutto's house?

6. Why does Penny shoot the doe while out searching for his missing hogs?

7. What does Jody realize when he visits Fodder Wing's collection of pets after Fodder Wing's death?

8. While walking to the fishing hole, what does Penny inform Jody about the Minorcans?

9. What happens during Fodder Wing's burial service?

10. While Penny and Jody are hunting for Grandma Hutto, a buck is killed. Describe both Jody's and Penny's roles in the buck's death.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the middle of the novel, there is a flood that overtakes the Baxter's land.

Part 1.) Describe the effects that the flood had on the land surrounding the Baxter's farm.

Part 2.) Describe the ways that the Baxter family was directly affected by the flood's damages.

Part 3.) Explain how the Baxter family survived in the months following the flood's damages.

Essay Topic 2

After Penny is injured by the rattlesnake, there is a period of time when Buck Forrester stays with the Baxter family. Compare/contrast life on the Baxter farm before and during Buck's time there and explain how Buck Forrester helped to change Ma Baxter's mindset about the Forrester family.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the first half of the novel, Penny Baxter is presented as an almost invincible man in his son's eyes. Explain why Jody has such high esteem for his father. Then, choose two examples of moments when Jody's faith in his father's ability begins to fade. Finally, explain how Jody's view of his father's strength has changed by the end of the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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