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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 confronts Lester Lamb in Chapter VII about the affair he’s become engaged in?

2. Where did the Lamb family live before they moved into the house at Number One Cloud Street?

3. The serial killer that terrorizes Perth in Chapter IX is based on what real-life figure?

4. The trial of the serial killer in Perth is driven from the front pages of the paper by what news in Chapter X?

5. Where does the Aborigine ask to be dropped off in Chapter VI?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is foreshadowed by Oriel and Quick’s catch of prawns in Chapter VII?

2. What is represented symbolically by the naked children in the wheat in Chapter X?

3. How does the author’s structural development reflect his themes in Chapter IX?

4. What does Quick dream of when he is knocked unconscious in Chapter VI?

5. How is Rose’s position in work and society described in the beginning of Chapter VIII?

6. What does the shadow girl that Fish speaks with represent symbolically in Chapter VII?

7. Who is the opening narrator in Chapter VI? What is described in this brief scene?

8. What does the character of Lucy Wentworth represent symbolically in the story?

9. What is represented symbolically by the black hitchhiker that Quick Lamb meets in Chapter VI?

10. How does Toby Raven respond when his work is mistaken for another writer’s at the party in Chapter VIII? What is indicated by this response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the character of Beryl Lee in the novel. Where does Oriel meet Beryl? Why does she invite Beryl to live at Cloudstreet? How does she fit in with the two families there? Why does Beryl leave Cloudstreet? Where does she go after leaving?

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

Discuss Oriel’s family history as revealed in Chapter III. What did Oriel do during World War I? Who died in that war that Oriel loved? How has Oriel’s past influenced her actions in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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