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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Qfwfq say about space and time before the Big Bang?

2. What has opened up fissures in the ground?

3. Where is Mrs. Vhd Vhd at the end of the story?

4. How does Qfwfq feel about his grandmother's cushion?

5. Where does Qfwfq find Mr. Hnw while Qfwfq is searching for his siblings?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ayl do when she comes from her hiding place with Qfwfq and sees the colors?

2. What outstanding physical characteristics does Mr. Pber^t Pber^d have?

3. Why does Qfwfq say he could not make an accurate guess as to how many beings their were at the point before the Big Bang?

4. How does Pfwfp start acting strangely, as the game between him and Qfwfq goes on?

5. What are Ayl and Qfwfq's attitudes toward difference and sameness?

6. How does Qfwfq react after he sees that his sign is obliterated?

7. What does G'd(w)^n make once matter begins to condense?

8. Describe the visualization that all the people in the point have of Mrs. Ph(i)nK_0 that leads to the Big Bang.

9. How does the Deaf One act while the moon is further away from the Earth?

10. Describe what Qfwfq thinks as he nears the end of the first galactic revolution and believes he's about to see his sign again.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Calvino's stories often center around signs and symbols. Discuss the role of signs and symbols in COSMICOMICS.

1) Discuss signs in "A Sign in Space." What is Qfwfq's first sign meant to represent? How does its meaning and function change over the course of the story? What does the story say about the nature of signs?

2) Discuss signs in "The Light-Years." How do the signs in "The Light-Years" compare to those in "A Sign in Space"? What is the function of signs? What problems do signs present?

3) What signs and symbols appear in other stories? How do the characters use signs and symbols and interpret them?

Essay Topic 2

The characters in COSMICOMICS have strange names which use symbols not normally found in names. Discuss the characters' names in COSMICOMICS.

1) Why are the names of Qfwfq's rivals Pfwfp and Kgwgk so similar to Qfwfq's name?

2) Why do the characters have unpronounceable names, with mathematical symbols and numbers in them? What affect do the strange names have on the reader? How do the names relate to the scientific subject matter of the stories? How do the names relate to the fantasy elements of the stories?

Essay Topic 3

The stories in COSMICOMICS take place at different points of the universe, where distance and space play an important role. Discuss space and distance in COSMICOMICS.

1) What role does space and distance play in "All at One Point"? How does the confinement of a single point of space compare to the expanded universe and affect characters' perceptions and behaviors?

2) What role does space and distance play in "The Distance of the Moon" and "The Form of Space"? How does distance relate to love and attraction?

3) What role does space and distance play in "Games Without End?" What does the ending of the story say about space and distance?

(see the answer keys)

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