"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"

Which sentence best expresses the theme of "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh?"

• It is possible to overcome fear by focusing on one's duty

• It is improper for soldiers to show emotion before going into battle

• The best military leaders can win battles without highly trained soldiers

• The role of a drummer boy in battle is more important than a general's leadership

Read the following sentence from paragraph 6.

A mile yet farther on, another army was strewn helter-skelter; turning slow, basting themselves with the thought of what they would do when the time came: a leap, a yell, a blind plunge their strategy, raw youth their protection and benediction.

What does helter-skelter mean as used in this sentence?

• Distant

• Frightened

• In a haphazard manner

• Under military control

Read this sentence from paragraph 37.

"Counting both sides, there's a hundred thousand men, give or take a few thousand out there tonight, not one as can spit a sparrow off a tree, or knows a horse clod from a minnieball..."

Which two statements best explain what the General means by his use of figurative language in this sentence?

• He doubts the soldiers' commitment to their duty.

• He is concerned that the soldiers' equipment is faulty.

• He believes the soldiers are unskilled with their weapons.

• He is worried that many of the soldiers will abandon their post.

• He thinks most of the soldiers lack the knowledge they need to fight.

What do the peach blossoms in the story most likely symbolize?

• Hunger and struggle

• Opportunity and leadership

• Loss of youth and innocence

• Escape from death and suffering

Which two reasons best explain why this selection is a work of historical fiction?

• There is a believable dialogue between the characters

• The details of the time period are accurately portrayed

• The main purpose of the text is to provide facts about an event

• The characters are involved in a conflict that is realistic to the era

• There are specific details about the traits and appearances of each character

Which sentence best illustrates how the setting contributes to the General's conflict in the story?

• "Both sides figuring the other side will just give up, and soon, and the war done in weeks, and us all home." (para. 34)

• "But here we are, taken with spring fever and thinking is blood lust, taking our sulphur with cannons instead of with molasses as it should be, going to be a hero, going to live forever." (para. 37)

• "Well, when you got a bunch of wild horses on a loose rein somewhere, somehow you got to bring order, rein them in." (para. 40)

• But if he beat a sure, steady, ever fast rhythm, then, then their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill, one knee after the other, like a wave on the ocean shore! (para. 46)

Read the sentence from paragraph 46.

Joby was his right hand and his left.

Which statement best expresses the meaning of this idiom?

• Joby will play loudly enough for soldiers on both sides to hear.

• Joby has taken on another drummer's job for the General.

• Joby knows how to play the drums with both hands.

• Joby is the General's most important assistant.

Read the sentence from paragraph 48.

"...Do you know you're general of the army when the General's left behind?"

The General most likely asks this question to -

• suggest that he will leave the battlefield

• express doubt about Joby's willingness to lead

• give Joby hope about the outcome of the battle

• emphasize the importance of the drummer boy's role

Which statement best describes Joby's main conflict in the story?

• He does not have a weapon.

• He has run away from home.

• He is frightened to go into battle.

• He does not want to talk to the General.

Which quote from the selection best supports Joby's main conflict, which is that he is frightened to go into battle?

• In silence he listened to his own heart ruffle away, away, at last gone from his ears and back in his chest again. (para. 1)

• For with the careless bones of the young men harvested by night and bindled around campfires were the similarly strewn steel bones of their rifles, with bayonets fixed like eternal lightening lost in the orchard grass. (para. 10)

• And the voice was about to move on when the boy, startled, touched the drum at his elbow. (para. 18)

• "Run off from home or joined legitimately, boy?"