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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. How did Donald and Max get home after their visit to the Durrell's home?

2. What did Fan and Prue explain to Mother and Gerald they were breeding for profit?

3. Who are Fan and Prudence?

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

5. What had Mrs. Haddock, channeling Mawake, told Margo to do about her health problems?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who did Gerald and his mother find sitting on their front porch the afternoon they returned from their excursion into the olive groves? Where did this person come from and why? How did Mother get along with this new guest?

3. Who did Gerald entrust to care for his baby hedgehogs while he was gone for the weekend with his mother? What condition were they in when he returned?

4. 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?

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

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

The final section of the book is entitled "Mail." What is in this chapter? Why is it important to the memoir? What do we know after reading the mail about the family and about Corfu?

Essay Topic 2

The writer uses dialogue to enhance the characters and often to inject humor into a situation. What are three examples of memorable dialogue in the memoir? Why are they memorable, and why are they important to the memoir?

Essay Topic 3

Based on all of the information provided in both narrative and dialogue, what are some of the characteristics of the author when he was a child? For example, how did he adjust to the move to Corfu, and what does that tell us about him as a child? What were the major influences on the author during his years in Corfu?

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