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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 does Mack sense about Doc?

2. What does Doc know very well?

3. What does Doc order in Ventura?

4. What fib does Doc make up about his walking trip?

5. What do each of the boys carry to the frog hunt?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mack know that the captain's wife would disapprove of Mack and the boys?

2. What is the symbolism of the music in Doc's head when he finds the body of the beautiful dead woman in the water?

3. Describe Steinbeck's use of humor in the frog-catching scene.

4. How does Steinbeck show that Cannery Row is an undesirable part of town?

5. Why is Mack impressed by Dora?

6. What are some of the morning rituals on Cannery Row?

7. For what event does Steinbeck use foreshadowing in this chapter?

8. What does Steinbeck believe about truth which is explained by Doc's walking trip during college?

9. How does Doc respond to Mack's request to know Doc's birth date?

10. What does Steinbeck mean by "the hour of the pearl" in Chapter 14?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Doc. Begin with his physical characteristics and extend into his personality and behavioral traits. What is Doc's role on Cannery Row? What is it about Doc that everybody wants to do something nice for him?

Essay Topic 2

Steinbeck mentions "the hour of the pearl" several times in the novel. How else could he have described this fleeting time in the mornings? What name would you give to the California sunsets? What is the significance of "the hour of the pearl" in relation to Doc?

Essay Topic 3

Steinbeck uses beautifully descriptive language in the book to help his readers see his world from his perspective. Without referring to the book, describe Cannery Row. Now, describe Monterey, using only your recall of Steinbeck's descriptions. How do you visualize the California coast now that you have read Steinbeck's descriptions?

(see the answer keys)

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