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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. Why was Gerald interested in the villa's garden?

2. What other animal had Gerald dissected before the turtle?

3. What was the narrator's name in Greek?

4. What did Theodore give Gerald for his birthday?

5. What did Roger do on his excursions with Gerald to the bay?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Sally? Where did Sally come from? How did the name Sally come to be? Why was Gerald excited to have Sally as a member of the household?

2. What dead creature did Gerald load onto his boat and bring home from the bay? What did he do with it upon coming home? How did the family react to his newest creature?

3. What did Gerald do upon catching a seahorse while fishing with Kokino? Where did he find them? How many seahorses did he find in all, and what did he do with them?

4. Who did Margo and Gerald discover lived on Mouse Island? How did they first discover this person? How did they eventually appease this inhabitant's ire?

5. Who was the first friend the family made upon arriving on the island of Corfu? What important help did this new friend give Gerald and his family?

6. What kinds of spiders did Gerald find on the island? What did he witness one day while observing one of the spiders he had caught?

7. What was the "Bootle-bumtrinket?" How did Gerald get it and what did he do with it?

8. What is a China-mark moth? What makes this moth unique?

9. Who was Kokino? What does Kokino mean in Greek? What did Kokino and Gerald do together?

10. What was the set pattern Theo and Gerald had established for their excursions? What was the first thing they did when settling into a new spot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the memoir, Gerald Durrell uses the five senses to enhance his detailed descriptions of life on Corfu. Discuss the use of this device as a means of description in the memoir. Include examples of some of the senses that Gerald depends on in his life in nature.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of the chapter "Interlude for Spirits" to the memoir. Why did the author choose this title for the chapter? How does this chapter fit in with the rest of the memoir? Which characters are in the spotlight in this chapter and why?

Essay Topic 3

There are many important scenes in the memoir in which the whole family reacts to something Gerald has done. One is the family's reaction to Pavlo. Another is the description of the turtle on the veranda. By their reactions, the family provides us with important parts of their personalities. Compare and contrast these two important examples of the family reacting to something Gerald has done, and discuss what we learn about the people involved.

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