Source: SilverMorgan, Laura Berhning, Wikimedia
Source: Speak up, sonnyboy!, J. Star, Flickr
Before you try answering sample test questions about these two texts, brainstorm some similarities. Sometimes, to see similar elements, you will need to use abstract thinking.
For instance, both stories have a young character. These characters are obviously very different because one is a horse. If you think abstractly, however, you will be able to see that the two characters are connected by their youth. In relation to this one quality—youthfulness—they are similar. For the questions that follow, see if you can select whether the stated quality or condition is similar in the two texts, “The Runaway” and the excerpt from Kidnapped.
1. Both stories involve an interaction between children and adults.
a. Similar
Correct! Even though one “child” is a horse, the answer is still the same; the two youths are similar. We can assume that the passersby in the poem are adults because they seem to think like adults.
b. Not Similar
Try again.
2. Both stories involve a child being deserted by adults.
a. Similar
Correct! The colt is deserted by the caretaker and possibly also by its mother. The boy is deserted by the men who pass by in the boat without helping him.
b. Not Similar
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3. Both stories involve sickness.
a. Similar
Try again.
b. Not Similar
Correct! The boy in Kidnapped is sick, but we have no indication that any character in “The Runaway” is “under the weather,” so to speak.
4. Both stories involve disappearing and reappearing.
a. Similar
Correct! In the poem, the colt disappears when it “bolts.” Then it reappears “with a clatter of stone.” In the story, the men in the boat disappear and then return with a third man.
b. Not Similar
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5. Both stories involve communication difficulties.
a. Similar
Correct! In the poem, the passersby cannot communicate with the colt, and they say that the colt’s mother can’t communicate with it either. In the story, the third man speaks Gaelic with a few words of English. This makes it almost impossible for the boy to understand him.
b. Not Similar
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6. Both stories involve misunderstandings about geography.
a. Similar
Try again.
b. Not Similar
Correct! In the story, there is a misunderstanding about the island being a “tidal” island, but there is no mention of a geographical misunderstanding in the poem.
7. Both stories involve mothers.
a. Similar
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b. Not Similar
Correct! In the poem, there is a comment about the colt’s mother but no mention of a mother in the novel excerpt.
8. Both stories involve being afraid of something that isn’t really a threat.
a. Similar
Correct! In the poem, the colt is afraid of the snow, but the snow is obviously not really a threat. In the story, the boy is afraid of being stranded indefinitely, but in fact, he can leave the island during low tide.
b. Not Similar
Try again.