Scat

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. How might the Red Diamond Energy Corporation best be described?

A) As moral

B) As immoral

C) As clever

D) As righteous

2. How does the author make use of red herrings, or clues that point readers in the wrong direction, in Scat?

A) He uses them to create suspense in the novel.

B) He uses them to cause the reader to falsely accuse characters.

C) He uses them to drive the plot to its conclusion.

D) He uses them to create confusion for the reader.

3. How might Mrs. Winship best be described based on the novel?

A) As a rich but distant relative

B) As inferior to others

C) As selfish and entitled

D) As hardworking and decent

4. What might be the author’s purpose in writing Scat?

A) To inform readers of the evil Red Diamond Energy Corporation

B) To entertain readers with a realistic mystery

C) To educate readers about conservation

D) To persuade readers to reject wealth

5. What best describes how Nick experiences character growth in the novel?

A) He learns the value of family.

B) He discovers the importance of a good teacher.

C) He learns to appreciate the differences of others.

D) He begins to become environmentally aware.

6. What statement best illustrates the novel’s theme of Books and the Real World?

A) Nick is shot by an evil corporation when attempting to save a panther cub.

B) Oil and gas exploration threatens the environment of the Everglades.

C) An evil corporation plans to pump oil from a neighboring plot of land.

D) Mrs. Starch is cruel to Duane Jr. until they help the cub.

7. What does Mrs. Starch’s “zoo of the dead” illustrate to Nick?

A) The lack of compassion Mrs. Starch has toward animals

B) The macabre fascination Mrs. Starch feels about the Everglades

C) The lives that could be lost in the destruction of the Everglades

D) The lack of responsibility the Red Diamond Energy Corporation shows toward wildlife

8. What is the purpose of the Red Diamond Energy Corporation in the novel?

A) To illustrate corporate greed

B) To serve as an antagonist to Nick

C) To demonstrate the selfishness of oil companies

D) To describe the urgency of environmental efforts

9. What is the implied reasoning for Wendell Waxmo’s intellectual deficits according to the novel?

A) Lack of education

B) Willful ignorance

C) Environmental negligence

D) Consumer culture

10. Who serves as a driving force in Mrs. Starch’s transformation in character?

A) Squirt

B) Duane Jr.

C) Twilly

D) Nick

11. What does the panther cub succeed in doing for Mrs. Starch and her students?

A) It causes them to see past their differences.

B) It unites them in a common purpose.

C) It gives them a shared enemy.

D) It allows them to develop a bond with Twilly.

12. How do Duane Jr.’s familial connections shift in the novel?

A)  Duane’s father finally recognizes the importance of a mother figure.

B)  Duane builds a makeshift family through his environmental efforts.

C)  Duane’s grandmother disapproves of his behavior and rejects him.

D)  Duane Sr. begins to reject Duane Jr. as a son.

13. What does the author imply is a possible reason Whitney, Duane Jr.’s mother, abandons her family?

A) Whitney learned from her mother, Mrs. Winship, to throw money at or run away from problems.

B) Whitney is upset that her husband, Duane Sr., is cruel and unfeeling.

C) Whitney is disappointed that her husband, Duane Sr., is thoughtless and unconcerned.

D) Whitney is tired of her mother, Mrs. Winship, being critical of her.

14. Which of the following is an example of dramatic irony–an event that the readers are aware of, but the characters are not?

A) Mrs. Starch is hiding a panther cub.

B) Duane Jr. is accused of arson.

C) Twilly is vandalizing the Red Diamond Energy Corporation’s equipment.

D) The Red Diamond Energy Corporation commits arson.

15. What is most likely the reason the novel is titled Scat?

A) It is a word for animal feces—what the characters use to track the mother panther.

B) It illustrates the author’s opinions of immoral corporations and how they harm the environment.

C) It is the author’s nickname for his pet panther.

D) It is a word spoken loudly to scare something away quickly.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What might the author describe as the duty of all people on the planet, and what is the implied benefit of this duty?

2. One of the novel’s themes is The Fragile Environment. What clues in the novel indicate that the environment is fragile?