View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What injures Miss Ethel Hook when she goes to look for Dr. Poole?

2. In his conversation with Dr. Poole, the Arch Vicar shows himself to be an expert in which field?

3. What job is assigned to Loola after her job review?

4. What is used to kill the deformed babies?

5. How many laborers are assigned to Dr. Poole in his job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the final scene of the film involving William Tallis' gravestone.

2. What became of the Canterbury and its crew, ultimately?

3. Provide the following characters' views on sex: the Arch Vicar, the Chief, and Dr. Poole.

4. What is peculiar about the babies being prepared for the Purification Ceremonies?

5. Describe the events in which Dr. Poole and Loola are assigned new jobs in the primitive community.

6. How does the poetry of Percy Shelley contribute to the development of romance between Dr. Poole and Loola?

7. What restrictions are placed on mating in the primitive community? What happens to those who dare to disobey?

8. Why does Loola feel that Dr. Poole is different from other men she has known?

9. According to the Arch Vicar, did Belial need the atomic bomb to assure the destruction of mankind?

10. What is the Arch Vicar's theory of history? What does this have to do with the "Order of Things"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much discussion is centered around the discovery of the truth and the nature of knowledge. What kind of theory of truth/knowledge does the novel put forth? How do the Arch Vicar and Dr. Poole differ about the nature of truth and knowledge? What is the consequence for an absence of truth?

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

What role does surrealism play in Ape and Essence? Identify and explain three surrealistic elements. What effect does the use of surrealism have on the comprehension of the reader?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 986 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample