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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. Which scientist is leashed by a female baboon at the beginning of the screenplay?

2. How does Dr. Poole become separated from his team?

3. On which street corner does Chief order books to be incinerated?

4. Where do the narrator and Bob Briggs discover the screenplay at the heart of the novel?

5. According to the narrator, truth without charity is not God but ___________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the New Zealand Rediscovery Expedition, and what is its mission?

2. How do Chief and Dr. Poole clash over books at Pershing Square?

3. Why does the Chief order his gravediggers to bury Dr. Poole?

4. What is the importance of where Tallis preferred to be buried?

5. How is Dr. Poole able to argue his way out of being buried alive?

6. What are the specifics of Bob Briggs' personal troubles at the outset of the novel?

7. What about Dr. Poole's presence is surprising to Chief?

8. List the allusions/references found in this section of the text.

9. What is the narrator's point about love and fear when describing the crew of the Canterbury?

10. How is Dr. Poole described? What does Dr. Schneeglock think of him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the character of William Tallis and the extent to which he is a surrogate or reflection of Huxley himself. Why is it important that he wrote the Ape and Essence screenplay? What is the significance of his gravestone, and the grave's location?

Essay Topic 2

The poetry of Percy Shelley is a crucial element in the novel. Examine the passages of Shelley's poetry engraved on William Tallis' gravestone. What does this poetry mean? Why was it chosen for the tombstone? What overall message should the reader take away from this poetry?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the steps involved in the Purification Ceremonies of Belial's Day. What is the goal of the Purification Ceremonies? What is the religious belief system behind the ceremonies?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample