View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Chapter 8, what time does Stillman begin his daily walks?
(a) Three o'clock in the afternoon.
(b) Seven o'clock in the evening.
(c) Eight o'clock in the morning.
(d) Six o'clock in the morning.

2. To which two continental philosophers does the narrator credit the concept of the "noble savage"?
(a) Locke and Rousseau.
(b) Nietzsche and Heidigger.
(c) Milton and Dark.
(d) Hume and Kant.

3. What does Peter Stillman have in common with Quinn's son?
(a) They are the same age.
(b) They are the same height.
(c) They both are Mets fans.
(d) They are both named Peter.

4. How much money does Quinn withdraw from the automatic teller at the end of Chapter 11?
(a) Three hundred and forty-nine dollars.
(b) Five hundred and forty-nine dollars.
(c) Five hundred dollars.
(d) Three hundred dollars.

5. What is Peter Stillman's profession?
(a) He is a teacher.
(b) He is an engineer.
(c) He is a poet.
(d) He is a firefighter.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do Quinn and the counterman at the luncheonette commonly converse about?

2. According to the information in Chapter 4, who was the Scottish sailor considered to be the model for Robinson Crusoe?

3. At the end of Chapter 4, Quinn begins to think of preventing Peter Stillman's murder as personal redemption for his inability to prevent the death of whom?

4. According to Stillman, what secret reference do the initials H.D. have?

5. According to Stillman's book, how many years elapsed between the Flood and the Tower of Babel?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of Chapter 13, what does the narrator reveal about himself? How did he become involved in the story?

2. What is the message spelled out by the letters of the maps in Chapter 8? What does this message reveal to Quinn about Stillman?

3. What is Stillman's theory about having children? What is the correlation between having children and knowledge?

4. Why did Stillman invent the persona of Henry Dark? What significance does this name have?

5. What is Stillman's project as he explains it to Quinn in Chapter 9? Why is this work necessary?

6. What is unusual about the relationship between Peter Stillman and his wife Virginia? What does Virginia do to make their relationship work?

7. What does Quinn believe is the key to effective detective work? Does his theory prove to be correct? Why or why not?

8. What is the first thing that Quinn writes in the red notebook? Why is this significant?

9. In Chapter 12, why does Quinn finally decide to leave the alleyway? Who is the first person he contacts and what information does this person provide?

10. Why is Virginia Stillman scared when Quinn calls her at the end of Chapter 9? What makes her think that Stillman may have contacted Peter?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 827 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample