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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. In what room of the house at One Cloud Street did the old woman who previously owned it die?

2. Who comes looking for Quick Lamb when he rows the skiff upriver in Chapter IV?

3. Who beats up Dolly Pickles in Chapter V?

4. Rose and her brothers discover the severed foot of whom washed up on the beach in Chapter I?

5. What was the name of the horse that Joel was betting on when he won a small fortune and bought the house at One Cloud Street?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is significant about the author’s depiction of the house on Cloud Street in Chapter III?

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

4. How are fates of the Lamb and Pickles families compared to one another in Chapter II?

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

6. What can the character of Rose Pickles be seen to represent symbolically in Chapter I?

7. What events occur in January of 1951, according to the narrator in Chapter V?

8. How is Fish’s mental capacity changed after his accident?

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

10. How do Sam’s actions in Chapter III propel the plot of the narrative forward?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the history of Australia and its original inhabitants, the Aborigines, of the region. How have Aborigines in Australia been discriminated against historically? How has this changed in the past several decades? What rights did Aborigines have during the time period in which the novel is set?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the character of Dolly Pickles and her relationship with her husband Sam. How is Dolly’s appearance described in Chapter I? What clues in the text indicate dissatisfaction within Dolly regarding her marriage to Sam Pickles? How is Dolly’s relationship with her children characterized?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the narrative style of the novel. From whose perspective is the first section of the story related from? Is the narrative told from a past or present tense? What are the notable elements of the author’s narrative style? How does the narrative change throughout the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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