Guided Reading Questions: Chapters 5-8 Across Five Aprils

Chapter 5 1. Ellen is ashamed of what “problem” and why? 2. What great responsibility is Jeth given? 3. Whom does Jeth meet on the way to Newton? What does he want Jeth to do and why? 4. Who is Sam Gardiner and what gift does Sam Gardiner give Jeth? 5. What happens to Jeth in the general store? 6. Describe Jeth’s encounter with Guy Wortman. What is Jeth’s response to Wortman’s question, and what does that suggest about Jeth’s character and his loyalties? Explain. 7. Who is Ross Milton, and what does he do for Jeth? What does Milton also give Jeth? 8. Find out what the term “Copperhead” referred to in the Civil War. 9. What political cartoon does Jeth notice in the newspaper? 10. What is the mood in the novel as Jethro approaches the Burdow place on his return trip? Give examples of details that create this mood. How is this foreshadowing? 11. What does Dave Burdow do for Jeth, and why do you think he does it? What is Jeth’s reaction?

Chapter 6 1. Why does Jeth mark the last week of March 1862 as his passage into manhood? 2. What does Jenny receive, and why does it anger Jeth? 3. What do the “ruffians” throw down at the Creighton’s gate, and what is its purpose? 4. Summarize the two major misfortunes that befall the Creightons during the spring of 1862. What impact do these events have on Jeth? 5. How do the men of the community avenge Bill’s allegiance to the Confederacy?

Chapter 7 1. What news does Dan Lawrence bring the Creightons? How does Jenny’s outlook change as a result of the news? What does she seem to realize for the first time? 2. How does Ross Milton respond to the news of Tom’s death? 3. For whom was Jethro named? 4. Where do the Creightons record births and deaths in the family? Consider the list of names and events here. What does it tell you about pioneer family life? 5. Where are the three eldest Creighton children? 6. Describe the incident involving Sam Gardiner and Guy Wortman. What happens to Wortman to bring him ridicule and render him ineffective as leader of the vigilantes? 7. According to the narrator, what is the problem with the Union generals?

Chapter 8 1. How is the war faring in the autumn of 1862? 2. What unusual thing happens during the rebuilding of the Creighton barn? 3. Who was General McClellan? What do you learn about him from Shad’s letter? 4. What is the substance of Shad’s second letter? 5. According to the narrator, what effect do the battles of Fredericksburg and Stones River have on Union soldiers and their supporters? In your opinion, why do they have this effect?