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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. The doctor who examines Fish Lamb in Chapter III believes that he must be what as a result of his accident?

2. Sam recuperates in the hospital for how long after his work injury in Chapter I?

3. Who is said to have convinced the woman who owned One Cloud Street to take in Aboriginal women in Chapter III?

4. What is the name of the competing grocer that Oriel Lamb decides to drive out of business in Chapter V?

5. Whose idea is it initially to open a small grocery store in an empty room in the house at Number One Cloud Street in Chapter III?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the central event that dominates Chapter II? Why is this event important in the story?

2. How are Quick Lamb and Rose Pickles described in the beginning of Chapter V? How old are they at this point?

3. What are Rose Pickles’s perceptions of her parents, as seen in Chapter I of the novel?

4. How does the author examine the themes of heredity and family in Chapter I?

5. What theme is introduced through the character of Rose Pickles in the beginning of Chapter I?

6. What is foreshadowed through the character of the black man that appears in Chapter III?

7. How do the Pickles family members differ from the Lambs in their perception of luck, as noted in Chapter III?

8. What question is raised by Sam’s intuition about his luck changing in the beginning of Chapter IV?

9. How is the concept of “luck” perceived by the members of the Pickles family? Where did this perception of luck derive from?

10. How does Oriel Lamb respond to the departure of Quick from Cloudstreet in Chapter V?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the names in the novel? Why are “Quick” and “Fish” Lamb given these nicknames? What do you think the family name “Pickles” signifies? How are the characteristics of the Lamb and Pickles families represented by their names?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of luck as perceived by the Lamb and Pickles families in the novel. How is this theme symbolized by the spinning of the butter knife by the Lamb family? What role does luck play in the establishment of the grocery store? How do the Pickles differ in their perceptions of luck?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss Quick’s reasons for leaving home in Chapter V. How have the changes in the family dynamic led to Quick’s decision to leave? Where has Lester Lamb been performing in Perth at this time? How does Quick feel about his father’s performances?

(see the answer keys)

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