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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. How did Isaac feel when he returned to the world in 'The Lost Children'?

2. What does the narrator say she is close to in 'Cold Poem'?

3. Where could the narrator in 'The Kitten' have taken the kitten?

4. What season can John Chapman still be sensed in 'John Chapman'?

5. What do some people label the beast in 'Tasting the Wild Grapes' as?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator think about while watching nature in Flamingo?

2. What is the ironic idea included in 'Mushrooms'?

3. What does the narrator in 'University Hospital, Boston' think about when she hears how old the hospital is?

4. What are the vultures in 'Vultures' compared to in an ironic analogy?

5. What is the person in 'Skunk Cabbage' looking for, and what do they find?

6. What question does the narrator want to ask the stranger on the plane in 'Flying'?

7. Who was John Chapman?

8. In 'The Bobcat', what does the bobcat do that astounds the narrator?

9. What does the narrator of 'August' accept during the poem?

10. What does the alligator in 'Postcard From Flamingo' do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Foolishness was a very common folly highlighted in this collection of poems. What are some of the main examples of this, and what message was being sent through these examples of blatant foolishness?

Essay Topic 2

Who was John Chapman, and how did he change the history and landscape of America?

Essay Topic 3

Many mother and daughter relationships were described in this collection of poems. What were some of these highlighted relationships, and how did they affect Oliver and her writing?

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This section contains 570 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample