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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. Why does Sartorius agree to come out?

2. Whose expedition was Berton on?

3. Who gives Gibarian the book he could not find?

4. What does Snow say about Gibarian's mental condition?

5. What giant human form does Berton see imitated by Solaris' ocean?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who do the records say took The Little Apocrypha out of the library?

2. Why aren't Berton's experiences related in the Supplement that Gibarian's note directs Kelvin to?

3. Why does Snow say the Polytherian forms are so dangerous?

4. Explain the term "no appreciable relation to reality" as the president of the committee uses it to describe Berton's report.

5. Was Gibarian dead when Snow found him?

6. What is Snow's reaction to Kelvin's description of Rheya as a woman he once loved who killed herself?

7. Describe the research station as Kelvin first sees it.

8. Why does Kelvin react emotionally to the two sundresses on the floor?

9. Who was the first human to die in Solaris's ocean?

10. What is Snow's reaction when Kelvin admits that he has had his first visitor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the novel say about unknowability? Discuss whether the nature of Solaris' ocean is knowable, based on external information, which is the only information available to humans. Discuss whether the nature of another human being is knowable, also based on the external information that is the only information available to others. Is it possible to truly know one's self, even though an individual is privy to his or her own private life? Use examples from the novel, and explain the author's point of view in your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

One of the main dreams of Solarists is contact with the ocean, and so one of the major thematic elements in Solaris is communication.

1) What are the obstacles to communication in Solaris, both between the ocean and the scientists and between the human characters? What is the effect of a lack of communication?

2) Does the ocean attempt to communicate with the scientists?

3) Is communication possible with the ocean?

Essay Topic 3

Solaris is written in the first person point of view, from Kelvin's perspective. Discuss point of view in Solaris.

1) Kelvin enters the Solaris research in the middle of the action, when Gibarian is already dead. Why does the author choose to begin with Kelvin's arrival into an already ongoing situation?

2) The first person point of view restricts the reader's knowledge to Kelvin's thoughts and perception. Why does the author choose this point of view?

3) Why does the author focus on Kelvin as a character and Kelvin's interaction with his visitor, to the exclusion of the other visitors?

(see the answer keys)

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