Train Dreams Quiz

Take our free Train Dreams quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

What is the most likely reason that Kate / the wolf-girl runs off in Chapter 8? (from Chapter 8)

She realizes that Gladys (her mother) isn't there and runs off in grief and confusion.

Being more wolf than human, she is afraid of the human nearby.

She realizes who Grainier is, and feels embarrassed to be seen by him in that condition.

Being more wolf than human, she feels that her chances for healing would be better with the other wolves.

Why is it easy for Grainier to be apart from Gladys and Kate in Chapter 2? (from Chapter 2)

He is afraid of being a bad husband and father: being away from hope keeps him from making mistakes.

He had been on his own for a long time before he was married, so he finds it easy to slip back into the routine.

He did not want to get married in the first place and is glad to be on his own again.

He is having an affair with the wife of one of his supervisors.

How is Miss Galveston similar to Claire Peterson? (from Chapter 9)

They both represent ways in which Grainier's determination to save himself for the perfect woman are put in danger.

They are both interested in corrupting Grainier's sexual and emotional purity.

They both refuse Grainier's sexual and emotional advances.

They both represent ways in which Grainier's cherished memory of Gladys might be tarnished.

In Chapter 9, what is the metaphoric connection between the bobcat glimpsed by Grainier on his trip to town and Grainier himself? (from Chapter 9)

Grainier feels that, like the bobcat, nature has let him down.

Grainier feels that, like the bobcat, he is old and desperate for company.

Grainier feels that, like the bobcat, he is a wild animal "caged" for other people's enjoyment.

Grainier feels that, like the bobcat, he is old and in a "cage" of loneliness.

In Chapter 7, narration refers to Grainier seeing a cabin "he’d never remembered before, the places of his hidden childhood, a vast golden wheat field, heat shimmering above a road, arms encircling him, and a woman’s voice crooning, and all the mysteries of this life were answered.” Given what the narrative has indicated about Grainier and his life so far, what do you think is the answer to those mysteries? (from Chapter 7)

Land ownership.

Rebirth.

Love.

Parenthood.