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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. From whose perspective does Ishmael tell a rival creation story in Chapter 4?

2. When does the narrator recognize Ishmael in Chapter 1?

3. When does Ishmael say that human history began?

4. What does Ishmael say is mythical about the story the narrator tells in Chapter 3?

5. Why does the narrator have a hard time identifying the creation myth of his culture?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator so upset to see Ishmael’s ad in the paper?

2. What correlation does Ishmael draw between Nazi Germany and the narrator’s culture?

3. What is the premise that is being played out in the narrator’s creation myth, according to Ishmael?

4. How does Ishmael say that their discussion is like sightseeing?

5. What are the definitions Ishmael lays out for the narrator?

6. What does Ishmael say the Takers’ relationship to the Community of Life is?

7. How does Ishmael say Hitler captivated the German people?

8. What is the narrator’s reaction when he finally recognizes his creation myth as a myth?

9. How would you characterize Ishmael’s tone with the narrator in general, as they talk regularly?

10. What does the sign that the narrator notices behind the gorilla say, and what does the narrator interpret it to mean?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is the audience for Ishmael? What is the ideal reader for Ishmael likely to think about the book’s main topics? How does this book try to affect the reader? What is it trying to teach him or her, or get him or her to do?

Essay Topic 2

Aside from the dialogue they conduct, Ishmael and the narrator seem to have a tense, and sometimes adversarial relationship. What is the role of their personal relationship in the novel, and how does it affect the narrator’s developing understanding of Ishmael’s teachings?

Essay Topic 3

Use this book as a meditation on the value of a five-star rating system. Is a five-star system sufficient to a book like this? Would you need to have sub-topics for the rating system, for plot, characterization, language, etc? What other sub-topics would you need? What value or importance gets lost in a five-star scale? Design a scale that would be better for this book.

(see the answer keys)

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