Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In the discussion of organizing the first ward, which is not a suggested task to be assigned?
2. What do the inmates do before burying their dead?
3. Why does the Doctor think his Wife has gone blind when he wakes up?
4. How does the first ward compare to the others in cleanliness?
5. What does the doctor step on on his way to the lavatory?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is the Doctor's conclusion about the origin of his blindness?
2. How are conditions in quarantine affected as more inmates arrive throughout Chapter 5?
3. Describe the asylum dormitory.
4. By this point, is the dispersal of food effectively organized by Chapter 7?
5. Describe the First Man's Wife's reaction to her husband when she comes home.
6. Describe the humiliation that occurs when the Doctor tries to use the toilet in Chapter 6.
7. What is the Sergeant's attitude toward the internees?
8. How does the First Man compose himself in the Doctor's office?
9. What appears to be the pattern for the spread of blindness in the novel?
10. Does the First Man trust the man who comes to his aid after he goes blind?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
After the central characters leave quarantine, they discover a city where absence of sight has rendered private property nonexistent:
Part 1) Examine the overview of the situation as related by the anonymous man that the Doctor's Wife speaks to as she is walking to the city? What function do residences and stores serve in this new society?
Part 2) Which characters within the group cling to the hope that they will find their old home, and which give up this hope? Prior to regaining their sight, do they find a home?
Part 3) Examine the First Man's arrangement with the Writer living in his house. How has the First Man's attitude toward private property changed since the beginning of the novel?
Essay Topic 2
Saramago makes several references to the old cliche: "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." In the central section of the novel, he pits two characters with sensory advantages against each other: the Doctor's Wife, who can see, and the Chronicler, who was born blind and can read and type braille. Compare and contrast these two "one-eyed men" and how they use or do not use their advantages. Is either truly a leader or "king" in the quarantine? What does each hope to achieve for their constituency?
Essay Topic 3
Choose one of the following topics to discuss in essay form:
1.) What qualities - besides her ability to see - make the Doctor's Wife a good leader to the group after they leave quarantine? How does she develop these leadership qualities and what are their limits?
2.) What aspects of the government's plan prove to be erroneous? Do you think government officials lacked suitable leadership in dealing with the white sickness, or were events simply too powerful for any leader?
3.) Had a different person from the Leader of the Thugs had a gun and taken control of the food supplies, could the result have been positive? Could order, cleanliness and fair distribution come about, or does absolute power corrupt absolutely?
|
This section contains 967 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
