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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. To what did Countess Mavrodaki invite Gerald to be her guest?

2. What did Gerald name his new owl?

3. What song were Donald and Max singing as they approached the Durrell home?

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

5. What did the Countess give Gerald as he was leaving should he get hungry on the way home?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Who was the Countess Mavrodaki? Why did she contact Gerald? What was Larry's reaction to her letter to Gerald?

5. When Margo, Mother, Fan and Prue took the dogs with them shopping, what happened?

6. Who did Gerald meet one day during one of his excursions into the crepe myrtles? What unusual creature did this person have?

7. What kinds of food and drink did Gerald's luncheon with the Countess consist of? How did Gerald feel as he left the Countess' villa to go home?

8. Who was Papa Demetrios? How did Gerald and Papa Demetrios know each other? What story did he tell Gerald about a fellow villager, Andreas Papoyakis?

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

10. How did Mother respond to meeting Mawake and Mrs. Haddock? How was this reaction unusual for Mother? What was the conclusion of the meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Kralefsky? He is given an opportunity to tell a story in Chapter Nine. What is the story he tells, and why does Gerald doubt the truth of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Mother and her different roles in the memoir. She is a mother and the keeper of the Durrell family. What else does the reader know about her from reading the memoir? How does she relate to others?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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