Emory's Gift

This excerpt can best be described as exploring the theme of —

• survival in extreme conditions

• courage in the face of danger

• reverence for the natural world

• standing up for a principle

The details about the size of the creek in paragraph 1 are significant to the story’s plot because —

• the creek is too narrow to offer the narrator any protection from the cougar

• the narrator knows exactly where to catch the most fish in the creek

• the creek is so wide and deep that the narrator’s escape route is cut off

• the narrator is so busy studying the creek that he does not notice the cougar right away

From paragraphs 11 through 13, what can the reader infer about the narrator’s relationship with his father?

• The narrator wishes that he could be more like his father.

• The narrator has an instinctive respect for his father

• The narrator feels conflicted about his father

• The narrator wants to escape his father’s influence.

What is left unresolved at the end of the story?

• The narrator’s conflict with his father

• The cougar’s dilemma

• The reason why the cougar fled

• The narrator’s need to find his way home

Which sentence best describes how the author uses point of view in the selection?

• The author uses a third-person narrative to help the reader understand what motivates the protagonist to stand his ground and meet a deadly threat.

• The author uses an unreliable first-person narrator to suggest that the protagonist exaggerates the dangers he faces.

• The author uses a first-person narrative to help the reader identify with the thoughts and feelings of a protagonist under extreme stress.

• The author uses an omniscient narrator to create suspense by revealing the existence of a threat to a naive, vulnerable protagonist.

The tone of the story becomes increasingly —

• hopeful

• critical

• despairing

• suspenseful