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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. Where did Sacks's accident occur?

2. What was the name of the surgeon who performed Sacks's knee surgery?

3. What does Sacks think of when he remembers the Biblical words, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time or die; a time . . ." (pg 26)?

4. What other word is connoted by the word "hell"?

5. What was the date when Sacks climbed the mountain?

Short Essay Questions

1. Leontev and Zaporozhet's book dealt with two hundred soldiers who suffered hand injuries. What was Sacks's reaction to the book? How did it help his healing process?

2. What advice did Sacks's maiden aunt give him? How does this advice come across on the printed page?

3. While Sacks was lying in his small hospital room, what happened to his eyes? How was this transformation similar to his leg's injury?

4. What differences exist between the 1993 edition of the book and the previous editions? Without having read the previous edition, do you think these changes are positive?

5. When touching his left leg for the first time after surgery, what did Sacks feel? How does his description of this moment pave the way for the truth about the leg?

6. All of Chapter Five is devoted to the moment Sacks took his first step. What literary effect does this have on the book?

7. How does Sacks describe his arrival at the convalescent home? What particular words contribute to the picture he draws?

8. With what quote does Sacks begin Chapter Three? How does this set the tone for the entire chapter?

9. As Sacks began to regain freedom and move around the hospital, he frequently mentioned natural elements: the birds, sun, and wind. Given what you know of his personality, why are these things important?

10. How many patients with neurological disorders did Sacks study following his recovery? What does this number say about the people involved?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What aspect of nature had Sacks forgotten about while he lay in his hospital bed? How does this compare to his previous lifestyle: hiking, swimming, etc?

Essay Topic 2

Sacks says that during his descent from the mountain, his awkward way of moving became natural (Chapter One, pg 10). He stopped thinking about it as the action became automatic. In what ways is this phenomenon exhibited throughout the book?

Essay Topic 3

How does Sacks describe his first ten minutes of walking again (Chapter Five, pgs 123-24)? How did this return him to the moment of humanity? How does this compare to Donne's quote at the beginning of Chapter Two?

(see the answer keys)

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