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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 does Kate underestimate?

2. What prompted the General to tell Ben the truth?

3. Who is Artkin shot by?

4. How does Miro feel about this realization?

5. What is the author trying to prove is very tragic?

Short Essay Questions

1. What shocks the reader in this section?

2. Prior to Ben's death, what type of the man was the General?

3. How does Miro get away from the ambush?

4. Why does Miro decide to kill Kate?

5. What did the General do to Ben to make sure, that he could always know what was happening with Ben?

6. Why does Artkin kill Raymond?

7. What does Miro think about as Artkin tortures Ben?

8. As the General looks back on the day of the hijacking, what does he wonder?

9. What does the General remember about the day of the hijacking?

10. Where does Miro leave Kate's body?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems as though the author is constantly trying to compare the lives of the three main characters. What themes does the author seem to emphasize with Kate, Ben, and Miro?

Essay Topic 2

A little over half way through the novel, the reader is surprised when the narrator changes.

How does the change in narrator create a different tone and feeling in the novel?

Why do you think Cormier chose to change the narrator.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the ending of the novel and then discuss how the ending of the novel tragic and unfair.

What is an alternate ending you would have liked to see for the story?

(see the answer keys)

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