english test study guide

voice

A writer's unique use of language that allows a reader to "hear" a human personality in the writer's work.

Mr. Oakhurst is calm when he becomes an outcast from Poker Flat because he

Accepts fate as a gambler does

One result of Twain's actions with the mesmerizer is that Twain

Develops a disbelief in mesmerism

The narrator's attempt to leave when Wheeler is out of the room suggests that he

He thinks that Wheeler won't stop talking

Paraphrase the hyperbole in the following excerpt. "I planned a siege against my pilot, and at the end of three hard days he surrendered."

I repeatedly asked Bixby to teach me.

Why is the "faint dimple" seen by a pilot on the river like an italicized passage in a book?

it made it clear to the pilot that there was a rock or wreck that would tear the boat up

What does Bixby want Twain to write in a little book?

landmarks Twain needed to know

Why does Harte's description of the setting in this region most likely include so many details about snow?

the snow plays an important role in what happens to the outcasts.

What does Twain notice about the river during the beautiful sunset at the end of the excerpt? Use two details in your response.

there was a dead tree that was about to fall and a floating log means the river is rising

What acts of kindness do the Duchess and Mother Shipton do when Piney arrives? Use two examples from the story.

they let her stay in their tent, they became protective of her, and they take on a motherly role

You can tell that the people in the region of Poker Flat believe in their own sort of justice by the

two men who have been hanged

Why does Twain say that Bixby is grateful to the trading scow crew?

Bixby needs a convenient target for his rage.

Why is the fact that Simmons calls Twain a wonderful subject an example of verbal irony?

Both Simmons and Twain know Twain is faking

Name two qualities that Twain says made him a good subject

He was creative and capable of acting as if he was willed to do something, and good at tolerating pain so that he would not wince when a pin was stuck in him

How does Smiley's inability to resist a bet help the stranger to cheat him in the contest?

His need to follow through with the bet leads to him leaving for the swamp and obtaining a frog for the stranger, this gives the stranger ample time with Smiley's frog, and allows him to weigh it down with shot.

How does the serious tone in Twain's voice create humor when he says, "I resolved to be a downstream pilot and leave the upstreaming to people dead to prudence?"

It is impossible for a pilot to travel only one way

Why does Tom have to retell the Iliad when Piney suggests that they tell stories?

Oakhurst and the outcast women do not wish to share their own stories.

Twain soon disliked hearing people talk about his feats in the show because

Remembering his lie made him ashamed

Wheeler's claim that Smiley would bet "on anything that turned up you ever see" is best supported by Smiley's bet on

The Parson's wife not getting well

How does Smiley's mare make him "uncommon lucky"?

The excited mare wins in spite of her illnesses.

What scared Twain the first time he steered the steamboat?

The steamboat was very close to other boats

Describe the trick that the narrator's friend "from the East" seems to have played on him.

Tricks him into going to talk to this storyteller by telling him to ask about a made up person knowing the narrator would get trapped by the tale teller and be stuck.

Why does Twain say that the house in which he lived as a boy "isn't large now although it hasn't lost a plank"? (line 144)

Twain has grown up and is bigger now than as he was as a kid

How does Twain's proud statement "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly" illustrate the humorous voice of this memoir?

Twain is about to admit that he has no answer

Twain pretends to be hypnotized because he

Wants the audience's attention

How does the dialect of the following excerpt describe the bull-pup? "his underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo'castle of a steamboat and his teeth would uncover and shine like the furnaces"

eager to win the fight and money

The detail that helps you predict that Twain will try to trick Dr. Peake into believing in mesmerism is that Dr. Peake

had great influence on the townspeople

What does Mr. Oakhurst do for Tom the first time they meet?

he gives him his money back and tells him to not gamble again

What does the narrator's comment clarify about Mr. Oakhurst? "Mr. Oakhurst could not bring himself to disclose Uncle Billy's rascality, and so offered the hypothesis that he had wandered from the camp and had accidentally stampeded the animals."

he protects the others from the truth

Paraphrase the following excerpt. "A day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river's face . . ."

he stopped the beauty in the river and started seeing the information

The steamboat crew implies that Twain is a baby because he

he wants to sleep through night watch

tall tale

A form of American storytelling featuring outlandish characters and events, often with a comic effect

Which description of Dan'l Webster uses the tall tale technique of understatement?

A frog needs only an education to do anything

regionalism

A literary movement of the 19th century that focused on speech, habits, history, and beliefs of people in a specific geographical area