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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 special gift did the owner of the press give to Gerald in return for some of the local gossip?

2. What happened to Gerald on his way to the Countess's house for their meeting?

3. What did Theodore and Gerald see out in the water while Captain Creech was visiting?

4. What did the doctor in Corfu recommend to treat Margo's health problems?

5. What did Mother call Mrs. Haddock before leaving the seance?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Mawake? What was unusual about Mawake?

2. What happened when Gerald arrived home after his visit with Pavlo and the gypsy?

3. Who arrived at the house in the middle of the night? Where did they come from and why did they come to the villa? How did the family react to their arrival?

4. Who was Demetrios-Mustapha? How did he get this name?

5. What did Gerald observe about the women and the machinery of pressing olives?

6. What was the Talking Head? How did it work?

7. What sound woke Larry in the middle of the night that caused him to wake the rest of the family? What did Gerald tell them all that explained things? What had caused the noise?

8. Who was Tickletummy? Where did Tickletummy come from? What special quality did Tickletummy have that warranted his name?

9. What misadventure did Gerald have on his way to meet Countess Mavrodaki? How did he feel when he arrived at her house? What was her response to his misadventure on the way over?

10. What did Gerald find in a field an old woman was cultivating? What did Gerald do with his find?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Larry is the oldest child in the family, and Gerald's oldest brother. Write a character sketch for Larry. Include his role in the family, his various interests, and his most noticeable personality traits. Also draw your own conclusions about his behavior, his feelings about his family, and specifically his feelings for Gerald.

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

Gerald Durrell ended his memoir with the short paragraph "Lulled by the wine and the throbbing heart of the boat's engine, lulled by the warm night and the singing, I fell asleep while the boat carried us back across the warm, smooth waters to our island and the brilliant days that were not to be." Discuss this sentence, its relevance to the memoir as a whole, and the "days ahead" for the family.

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