The Rock and The River

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

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Introduction

Before Reading

Reading Context

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Answer Key

After Reading

Discussion/Analysis Prompt

Activity

Essay Questions

Exam Questions

Exam Answer Key

Multiple Choice

1. C (Chapter 1)

2. A (Chapter 2)

3. D (Chapter 4)

4. A (Chapter 6)

5. B (Chapter 7)

6. B (Chapter 9)

7. A (Chapters 10-11)

8. C (Chapter 11)

9. A (Chapter 12)

10. D (Chapter 17)

11. C (Chapter 18)

12. A (Chapter 19)

13. C (Chapter 20)

14. C (Chapters 20-21)

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Long Answer

1. Sam learns in virtually every plot point after the street protests over the shooting of Dr. King that he is transitioning from the naivete of his childhood into an adult awareness of the complexities of the world: when Sam pulls the gun on the white man choking his brother; when Sam witnesses Stick’s shooting; when Sam and Maxie discuss their relationship against the reality of racism; when Sam refuses to reveal to his brother where the gun is; when Sam is interrogated after Stick’s shooting; when Sam finds out that the protester who stabbed his father was never arrested. These scenes reveal that Sam must surrender his simplistic faith in people, his unquestioned trust in the system, and his lack of awareness of the world his family and his neighbors live within.