75 pages • 2 hours read
Steve SheinkinThe Notorious Benedict Arnold
Nonfiction | Biography | YA | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Quiz
Reading Check, Multiple Choice & Short Answer Quizzes
Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.
Chapters 1-7
Reading Check
1. What is about to happen in the clearing in the woods in Chapter 1?
2. What government position did the first Benedict Arnold hold?
3. When Benedict Arnold is around 11 years old, how do two of his sisters die?
4. What happens on April 19, 1775?
5. What compromise do Ethan Allen and the leader of the Green Mountain Boys reach in Chapter 6?
Multiple Choice
1. What work did the fourth Benedict Arnold do when he moved to Connecticut?
A) mayor of Norwich
B) merchant and sea captain
C) school teacher and librarian
D) silversmith
2. How old is Benedict Arnold when Chapter 3 opens?
A) 7
B) 8
C) 9
D) 10
3. When Benedict Arnold’s apothecary apprenticeship is over, what does he do for a living?
A) He becomes a merchant.
B) He becomes a teacher.
C) He becomes a silversmith.
D) He becomes a tailor.
4. How long does it take for the fort in Vermont to fall?
A) 10 months
B) 10 days
C) 10 hours
D) 10 minutes
5. Where is the fort that Arnold attacks in Chapter 7?
A) Vermont
B) Maine
C) Canada
D) New Hampshire
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Describe what kind of child Benedict Arnold is.
2. After the end of the French and Indian war, how does Britain try to raise money to pay its war debts?
3. In Chapter 5, what fort does Arnold lead his militia into Vermont to attack, and what other leader does he discover is already planning an attack?
4. What behavior by the Green Mountain Boys does Arnold object to after the fort falls?
5. What two major disappointments does Arnold suffer at the end of Chapter 7?
Chapters 8-21
Reading Check
1. What Canadian city does Arnold suggest Washington attack in addition to Montreal?
2. What do Arnold’s starving soldiers kill and eat in Chapter 12?
3. When Montgomery and Arnold send a demand for surrender to Guy Carleton, what does Carleton do with this document?
4. When George Washington hears about the siege of Quebec, how does he reward Arnold?
5. When Arnold realizes that his fleet is not large enough to fight the British on the open waters of Lake Champlain, what tactic does he try?
Multiple Choice
1. What is the name of the British soldier that Chapter 8 is about?
A) John Pitcairn
B) John Butler
C) John André
D) John Burgoyne
2. In Chapter 11, what do Arnold’s starving soldiers eat while they wait for supplies?
A) candle wax and boiled leather
B) pine needles and berries
C) musket grease and river reeds
D) birch bark and maggots
3. Who takes command of the attack on Quebec after Montgomery is killed and Arnold is injured?
A) Daniel Morgan
B) Henry Dearborn
C) David Wooster
D) John Lamb
4. How do the residents of Carlisle feel about John André and John Despard?
A) grateful
B) amused
C) betrayed
D) hostile
5. In Chapter 19, what is Arnold charged with at his court-martial?
A) abusing prisoners
B) theft
C) disobeying a direct order
D) treason
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What are some of the difficulties Arnold’s troops face as they try to navigate toward Canada in their bateaux?
2. When Arnold’s soldiers are starving in Chapter 12, what plentiful food source suddenly appears, and where does it come from?
3. What task does General Preston give to John André, and what is the outcome for André and Fort St. John?
4. When Arnold meets with Generals Schuyler and Gates, what does he propose, and what reward does Congress give him for making this bold suggestion?
5. When Arnold and his soldiers retreat to Fort Ticonderoga, what do they assume will happen, and what actually happens?
Chapters 22-35
Reading Check
1. What does John André send to British commander William Howe?
2. What does Arnold send Han Yost to do?
3. Which general tries to remove both Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold from his forces in Chapter 28?
4. What nation comes to the aid of the Americans because of their victory at Saratoga?
5. Which general does André work for in New York?
Multiple Choice
1. In Chapter 23, what non-military disappointment does Arnold suffer?
A) His daughter contracts yellow fever and dies.
B) Betsy DeBlois marries another man.
C) His business fails because of British blockades.
D) He learns that Daniel Morgan has been spreading rumors about him.
2. What does the British general Burgoyne think caused such heavy British losses in the Battle of Saratoga?
A) Arnold’s decision to attack instead of waiting for the British to attack
B) Gates’s decision to set up an ambush by hiding men in the forest
C) Arnold’s decision to create a supply blockade cutting Saratoga off from the north
D) Gates’s decision to use Arnold’s troops as a wedge to split the British forces
3. In Chapter 29, who does Congress officially recognize for his contributions to the victory at Saratoga?
A) Arnold
B) Morgan
C) Knox
D) Gates
4. Besides his wealth, what draws the suspicions of Pennsylvania leaders to Benedict Arnold in Chapter 32?
A) his friendship with Daniel Morgan
B) his knowledge of British war plans
C) his socializing with loyalists
D) his mysterious absences from the governor’s residence
5. What bright spot is there for Arnold in Chapter 35, amidst his mounting legal and financial problems?
A) He is made a full general.
B) He gets married.
C) His son Richard joins the American army.
D) His old leg injury significantly improves.
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What reward for his bravery does Congress give Arnold in Chapter 24, after the battle at Danbury, and why is Arnold still not satisfied?
2. What is the Paoli Massacre, and what role did John André play in it?
3. In Chapter 30, how does André spend his time in Philadelphia?
4. What problems do James Reed and his friends cause for Arnold?
5. To whom does Arnold appeal to try to get out of his legal problems in Chapter 35, and what is the outcome?
Chapters 36-45
Reading Check
1. What important message does John Stansbury bring to John André?
2. What excuse does Arnold give Washington for wanting the command at West Point?
3. Whom does Arnold send to escort André back to New York?
4. What request does André make about the manner of his execution?
5. Where do Arnold and his wife move after the British surrender at Yorktown?
Multiple Choice
1. In Chapter 36, how do André and Arnold agree to communicate?
A) They leave coded messages for one another at Christ Church.
B) They disguise their letters as invoices accompanying military supplies.
C) They use Peggy to pass letters written in invisible ink.
D) They publish anonymous, coded messages in the New York newspapers.
2. In Chapter 38, who does Arnold learn is scheduled to visit West Point?
A) Gates
B) Reed
C) Washington
D) Morgan
3. Where does André keep the West Point documents during his journey toward New York?
A) under his horse’s saddle
B) in the back of his shirt
C) in a saddlebag
D) in his stockings
4. What is Washington’s first clue that something is wrong at West Point?
A) Arnold’s absence
B) the disorder of soldiers and weapons
C) the arrival of the captured documents
D) Peggy’s emotional breakdown
5. What do the enraged crowds in Norwich do in response to Arnold’s treason?
A) assault Peggy Arnold and her children
B) desecrate Arnold family graves
C) burn the businesses Arnold still owns there
D) send men to New York to retrieve Arnold
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What plan to betray the Americans does Arnold come up with in Chapter 37?
2. How does Arnold get an unsuspecting friend to pick André up from the Vulture?
3. What three rules that Clinton gave to André does André violate during his mission to get the West Point documents from Arnold?
4. How does Arnold arrive in New York, and what kind of reception does he get?
What strange monument to Arnold was erected at the site of the Saratoga battle?
Quizzes – Answer Key
Chapters 1-7
Reading Check
1. a hanging/execution (Chapter 1)
2. governor of Rhode Island (Chapter 2)
3. yellow fever (Chapter 3)
4. the British march on Lexington and Concord/the start of the Revolutionary War (Chapter 5)
5. They decide to lead the attack together. (Chapter 6)
Multiple Choice
Short-Answer Response
1. Benedict Arnold is a mischievous child who enjoys risky pranks and physical activity. He is also clever and good at academics like math and Latin. (Chapter 3)
2. The British government levies taxes on some goods being imported to the colonies. (Chapter 4)
3. He leads his troops to attack Fort Ticonderoga. He discovers that Ethan Allen is already planning an attack on the fort. (Chapter 5)
4. The Green Mountain Boys get drunk and steal from their British prisoners. (Chapter 6)
5. Arnold is removed from his command at Fort Ticonderoga, and then he learns that his wife has died. (Chapter 7)
Chapters 8-21
Reading Check
1. Quebec (Chapter 9)
2. a dog (Chapter 12)
3. burns it (Chapter 14)
4. He makes Arnold a general. (Chapter 16)
5. He hides his ships in a channel. (Chapter 20)
Multiple Choice
Short-Answer Response
1. Students should mention at least two of the following: the soldiers often have to portage through dense forest, the weather is cold and wet, the river is a drowning danger, and their food begins to rot. (Chapter 10)
2. The soldiers suddenly see cows and sheep. These have been sent ahead by Arnold in order to feed them. (Chapter 12)
3. André is sent to negotiate with General Montgomery; when he returns to Preston, Preston decides that the British position is hopeless, and they agree to surrender the fort. André is made a prisoner of war. (Chapter 13)
4. Arnold proposes that the Americans build their own fleet of ships. As a reward for this plan, Arnold is appointed the “Commander of the Lakes.” (Chapter 18)
5. The Americans expect the British to arrive quickly, but the British never come to Fort Ticonderoga, because General Carleton decides they lack the resources. (Chapter 21)
Chapters 22-35
Reading Check
1. maps and charts of Pennsylvania’s terrain (Chapter 22)
2. convince the British inside the fort that Arnold has an overwhelming force waiting outside (Chapter 25)
3. Gates (Chapter 28)
4. France (Chapter 31)
5. Clinton (Chapter 34)
Multiple Choice
Short-Answer Response
1. Congress promotes Arnold to major-general. But he is unhappy that he is still subordinate to the men who were promoted to this rank before him. (Chapter 24)
2. During the Paoli Massacre, British troops enter a sleeping American camp and kill about 200 soldiers, despite some trying to surrender. André participates in this mission without regrets. (Chapter 27)
3. André spends his time in comfort, enjoying Philadelphia's social life. He meets Peggy Shippen and throws a big party for General Howe. (Chapters 30 and 31)
4. Reed and his friends publish a series of attacks on Arnold’s character in local newspapers. This leads to the Pennsylvania Executive Council issuing charges against Arnold. (Chapter 33)
5. Arnold appeals to George Washington to help him get out of his legal troubles. But Washington decides that the most he can do is postpone the trial. (Chapter 35)
Chapters 36-45
Reading Check
1. Benedict Arnold will switch to the British side. (Chapter 36)
2. He claims to be physically unable to command troops who are fighting on the offensive. (Chapter 38)
3. Joshua Hett Smith and an enslaved person (Chapter 40)
4. He asks to be executed by firing squad instead of by hanging. (Chapter 43)
5. London (Chapter 45)
Multiple Choice
Short-Answer Response
1. Arnold defends himself vigorously at his court-martial so that he will be reinstated into the American forces. He plans to become the West Point commander and turn this strategic location over to the British. (Chapter 37)
2. Arnold tells his friend, Joshua Hett Smith, that there is a man called John Anderson aboard the Vulture who has agreed to help the Americans by turning over important information. (Chapter 39)
3. Clinton told André to never go behind enemy lines, to always wear his uniform, and to refuse to carry documents; André broke all three of these rules. (Chapter 41)
4. Arnold arrives aboard the Vulture, dressed in a British general’s uniform. But his plan has already failed, and he is given a chilly reception. (Chapter 43)
5. At the site of the Saratoga battle, there is a sculpture of a single left leg. There is a plaque that does not mention Arnold’s name but instead dedicates the monument to “the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army” (Chapter 45)
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By Steve Sheinkin
