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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 is Delphi's relationship to Frederick Moran?

2. How does Al prevent Delphi's gun from killing Dirk?

3. What is Boland's reaction to the news that March is dead?

4. What does Dirk direct should be done to the Starbuck's torpedo room as they escape?

5. How many of Them attack Dirk and Adrian?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does LT Robert Buckmaster discover at the old Army installation, which supposedly belongs to Delphi that partially explains the entirely unexpected fierce resistance to Marine's invasion? How might this situation have come to be?

2. How does LCDR Crowhaven get in touch with Pearl Harbor in spite of Delphi's lock on their radio transmissions? What is the code he uses to communicate with ADM Hunter over the open wires?

3. What does Dirk fear lays in store for the Martha Ann? What information is he now armed with that may help? What does he still not know that could be fatal?

4. How does LCDR Crowhaven's attitude change from his frame of mind on the plane, once he is within sight of the submarine and Dirk lets him know that this is where he [Dirk] gets off?

5. What are ADM Hunter and Dirk Pitt's differing opinions on Adrian?

6. What happens during Dirk's final radio transmission from the C-5airplane before they touch down on the surface of the ocean? what does it mean for their rescue mission?

7. What does Delphi say is his main objective? What does Dirk say is Delphi's main objective?

8. When Dirk discovers LCDR Boland has been stabbed with a spear, he decides the spear must come out. What is standard first aid procedure for puncture/impalement wounds and why and how does Dirk deviate from it?

9. It is evident that Seaman First Class Farris could never have been any help to Delphi's cause or mission, however, Delphi keeps him alive, in spite of admitting to Dirk that Farris is "a minor miscalculation." What might be some reasons for this?

10. How do Summer's divided loyalties express themselves in their final moments in the doomed seamount as the missiles hit and the mountain begins to crumble?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

ADM Sandecker tells Dirk, "an enemy agent wouldn't have to use muscle [on you]. They'd simply send their most seductive Mata Hari to the nearest bar and let you pick her up." What does this statement mean and what is the inference being made about Dirk's character? Analyze this statement in the context of all you know about the character of Dirk Pitt. Does it seem to be a fair or consistent statement? Provide evidence from the book to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

ADM Hunter says, "I'll not confuse the issue with a personal problem," in response to Dirk's question as to whether he has informed the men plotting to blow up the seamount that his daughter is being held hostage there. How does this statement capture the essence of ADM Hunter's character throughout the book?

Essay Topic 3

Pacific Vortex! is the first Dirk Pitt novel Clive Cussler wrote (even though it is published much later, after several other Pitt adventures) and indeed it shows signs of being a novice attempt. The character development is somewhat sporadic, there are questions or plot mysteries that are later left unanswered and some scenes that almost seem extraneous which are only loosely tied together by the final explanation. Characterize some of these "novice" elements using firm examples from the book. At the end, is there anything you wondered, "yes, but what about...?" How could Cussler have woven these plot threads or characters more tightly into the fabric of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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