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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. After his suicide attempt, what changes begin to occur in Marx?

2. Why does Amanda believe that Marx joined their zoo?

3. What devices are used to motivate the nuns and priests to continue working diligently at the Vatican?

4. What awakens the group the first morning they have assembled together to discuss the Second Coming?

5. Where are the lumberjacks spotted by Marx and the Zillers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Plucky notice about the Vatican that pushes him to conclude that the Catholic church is dying?

2. What duties does Marx perform at the zoo?

3. How has Plucky been handling his situation with the Society, per Marx's initiation into the secret infiltration?

4. Why does Marx attempt suicide and what change overcome him as a result?

5. Describe Amanda's suggestion that the federal agent is a symbol junkie.

6. What is significant about the Corpse's appearance?

7. What observations do the Zillers and Marx make about the loggers and their work?

8. What is John Paul's plan for the Corpse when he disappears with it, Mon Cul, and Plucky Purcell?

9. What is Marx's suggestion about Plucky's plan for the Corpse and why?

10. What is Plucky Purcell's fate and final message?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Marx Marvelous's ideas about religion and how they are related to his belief that the Zillers are at the forefront of a new type of spirituality. Relate these ideas to his personal quest to discover his own need for spirituality (instead of relying on his logic), particularly how these conflicts stem from his childhood, as well as how it affects his ideas for the fate of the Corpse. Develop a clear thesis statement and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

"He's a symbol junkie . . . people like him- that is, the majority- are strung out on symbols. They're so addicted that they prefer abstract symbols to the concrete things which symbols represent. It's much easier to cope with the abstract than with the concrete; there's no direct, personal involvement- and you can keep an abstract idea steady in your mind whereas real things are usually in a state of flux and always changing. It's safer to play around with a man's wife than with his cliches." Write an essay about Amanda's statement. Discuss what it means to the Second Coming as depicted in this novel and how it affects the ways in which Amanda and John Paul live their lives. Develop a clear thesis statement and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that presents the character of Mon Cul as the link between science and faith (Marx Marvelous's motivation through the novel). Discuss his layered role as a companion to John Paul (as well as the man's motivation for acquiring the baboon) and the significance behind the experimental balloon's need for baboons (particularly in regards to Mon Cul steering the balloon with himself, John Paul, and the Corpse as passengers). Develop a clear thesis statement on this topic and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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