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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. Who is Caleb and Joel's first tutor?
2. What does Bethia say about Caleb at commencement?
3. What does Makepeace think is the cause of his father's death?
4. What does Bethia believe she feels for Caleb?
5. Who arrives the day after Anne is ill?
Short Essay Questions
1. What happens to Joel on his way to the mainland?
2. How does Bethia help Caleb die with peace and dignity?
3. Why has Noah Merry come to Cambridge and what news does he bring?
4. What does Mayfield's will say about further schooling for Joel, Caleb and Makepeace and how does that affect Bethia?
5. Why do Caleb, Joel and Bethia believe they need to get Ann to the island?
6. What does Samuel confess to Bethia?
7. What is surprising about Mayfield's will?
8. How do Caleb and Joel do on their entrance exams?
9. Why does Bethia tell Caleb to stop calling her Storm Eyes?
10. What does Bethia say about her marriage to Samuel and their trip to Italy?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
An important symbolic element is the treatment of the whale, which can clearly be seen as a metaphor for the (exploitation? spiritual gutting?) of natives by whites that takes place throughout the novel. It might not be going too far, in fact, to suggest that the treatment of the whale is a metaphorical foreshadowing of how Caleb, Joel, and perhaps even Bethia herself, are treated by the white, educated, Christian men whose attitudes and beliefs define their lives. Granted, there are white people (Pastor Mayfield, the soon to be introduced Merry family) who treat the natives they encounter with a degree of respect. But the book clearly portrays these people and their views/actions as in the minority, perhaps as an overall authorial commentary on how white imperialist and/or capitalist Christianity overwhelmed goodwill and humanism on a number of levels.
1. Discuss the whale in view of the above statement, using your own thoughts and words. Use examples from your life and Caleb's Crossing to support your answer.
2. Discuss the concept of prejudice in light of the above statement. Include in your discussion thoughts on prejudice in present America. Use examples from your life and Caleb's Crossing to support your answer.
3. Discuss what you think is made by the statement: The book clearly portrays these people and their views/actions as in the minority, perhaps as an overall authorial commentary on how white imperialist and/or capitalist Christianity overwhelmed goodwill and humanism on a number of levels. Use examples from your life and Caleb's Crossing to support your answer.
Essay Topic 2
Discuss one of the following:
1. Trace and analyze the theme of growth in Caleb's Crossing. Consider the following questions as you write: What characters are most concerned with growth? Why? What are some symbols of growth? Symbols of rigidity? What characters seem rigid?
2. Trace and analyze the theme of culture and religion in Caleb's Crossing. Which characters struggle with this issue? Why? Which characters seem to be able to meld their culture and their religion? What about how religion influences culture?
3. Trace and analyze the theme of death in Caleb's Crossing. What types of deaths besides physical are portrayed in Caleb's Crossing? How does death change the lives of the characters, especially Bethia?
4. Trace and analyze the theme of sin and redemption in Caleb's Crossing. Who believes sin is real? Who does not? How does sin in a character's beliefs coincide with guilt? What characters considers herself/himself sinful?
Essay Topic 3
Over the course of The Maze, Bethia grows as a person in both complexity and understanding. Caleb's Crossing might be considered a slice of Bethia's larger story of her "coming of age." It might be said that Caleb's Crossing is a "bildungsroman" of Bethia. Discuss the following:
1. Define Bildungsroman, or "Coming of Age," and give several examples from literature you have read.
2. Trace and analyze the character of Bethia as she changes from a more carefree, innocent girl to a wiser, older woman. What are the significant events that change Bethia?
3. After thoroughly analyzing Bethia's growth throughout Caleb's Crossing, do you think Caleb's Crossing could be considered Bethia's Coming of Age story? Why or why not?
4. Are there any other characters in Caleb's Crossing who go through a Coming of Age experience? Who? Why do you think so?
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This section contains 1,282 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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