Beartown

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

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes what hockey means to the people of Beartown?

A) It is a chance to escape the daily drudgery of their lives.

B) It gives them a sense of community pride.

C) It gives them the chance to place bets and make money.

D) It is something entertaining to do in the isolation of the wilderness.

2. Which plot scenario best represents where Amat’s loyalties are at the end of the book?

A) Amat getting the assist for Beartown Hockey’s game-winning point during the semifinals

B) Amat attending the meeting to decide Peter’s employment

C) Amat telling the adults and police the truth of what happened to Maya

D) Amat telling his mother about the money and job Kevin’s father offered him

3. What is the significance of the wolf-head mug Maya gifts Kira?

A) It represents Maya’s love for Kira.

B) It represents Kira’s fierceness as a lawyer and her dedication to her clients.

C) It represents how Kira has come to feel at home in the wilderness of Beartown despite having disliked it at first.

D) It represents Kira’s fierceness and protectiveness when it comes to her children.

4. Which of the following is the strongest example of the theme Secrets and Shame?

A) Benji hiding his sexual orientation

B) David hiding why Kevin got arrested from the rest of the team

C) Kira hiding her resentment of Beartown hockey

D) Ramona hiding her agoraphobia

5. Why is Ann-Katrin so proud of Hog and Bobo after overhearing their conversation in the garage?

A) She is proud because Hog has confirmed that Bobo will never mistreat women.

B) She is proud because Hog supports Bobo taking a stand against the hockey team.

C) She is proud because Hog and Bobo had a tough conversation even though neither of them are good with their words.

D) She is proud of them because Hog and Bobo will support each other through the uncertainties to come.

6. Why is it remarkable that Kira is a working mother?

A) Her work as a lawyer is very difficult and makes it hard to have a work-life balance.

B) She is the breadwinner, which subverts gender stereotypes.

C) There are so few jobs in Beartown and the surrounding area that it is impressive she managed to secure work.

D) The community expected her to be a stay-at-home mother so Peter could focus on hockey.

7. What can be inferred about Ramona based on the respect she has from community members?

A) She is not afraid to tell people the truth, even if they don’t want to hear it.

B) She has a lot of money.

C) She knows a lot about the things going on around town.

D) Her late husband held a position of respect that she inherited, making her a matriarch of Beartown.

8. Which of the following is the least reasonable interpretation for why Maya pointed the gun at Kevin?

A) She wanted to make him afraid of the dark.

B) She wanted him to confess that he raped her.

C) She wanted to make him afraid of her.

D) She wanted to show him how strong she still was.

9. Which of the following best represents the significance of the following quote, said to Kevin by his father: “My job is to be your father, not your friend.”

A) It is justification for Kevin’s father’s “tough-love” policy.

B) He does not understand that Kevin desires a more emotional connection.

C) He dislikes that Kevin keeps asking him personal questions.

D) He believes that being Kevin’s father is his top priority and role in life.

10. Why does Benji decide to play for Beartown hockey instead of traveling to Hed with the rest of his teammates?

A) He hates Kevin now.

B) He thinks David will not play him because of his sexuality.

C) He has a strong loyalty to the Beartown club and the men who helped raise him.

D) He thinks that Amat is an upcoming star, and he has a role to protect him like he protected Kevin.

11. How does Kira’s approach to difficulties compare to Peter’s approaches?

A) Kira is a fighter while Peter is more level-headed and emotional.

B) Kira is emotional while Peter is logical.

C) Kira throws herself into her work while Peter tries to find new ways to connect with people.

D) Kira leans on her friends and loved ones while Peter isolates himself.

12. Amat uses the money Kevin’s father bribes him with to buy Maya a new guitar. What does this symbolize?

A) His belief that she will one day escape Beartown

B) The depth of his crush on her

C) His faith in her talents as a musician

D) His mourning over the role he played in delaying her justice

13. What moment best represents the change in Benji’s loyalties from Kevin and to a more moral ideology?

A) Leaving Kevin’s party

B) Breaking into the school

C) Destroying the girl’s bathroom

D) Dating the bass player

14. Which quotation best shows the novel’s theme of Hockey, Hope, and Obsession?

A) “Never trust people who don’t have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason.”

B) “Hockey changes all the time, because the people playing it do.”

C) “Winners have a tendency to be forgiven in this town.”

D) “You’re one of us now. No one touches us.”

15. Which of the following best describes the tone of the novel’s conclusion?

A) Vengeful

B) Hopeful

C) Mournful

D) Joyful

Long Answer

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

1. How does Peter change throughout the novel? In what ways do his priorities shift?

2. How is social class and economic conflict present in the novel? Think about the difference between the Hollows and the Heights.