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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 catches Quick Lamb and his girlfriend naked in the bush in Chapter VI?

2. The young woman that Quick begins dating in Chapter VI says she wants to have a florist shop where?

3. How has Ted Pickles died in Chapter IX?

4. Who spends all day in Kings Park in Chapter VII?

5. Whom does Quick Lamb dream of rowing a wooden box when he is injured in Chapter VI?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to the images on the walls of the library at Cloudstreet when Rose gives birth in Chapter IX? What does this symbolize?

2. What is significant about the wedding of Rose and Quick in Chapter VIII? How does this event relate to the story’s plot?

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

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

5. What is the significance of the discussion about the black man voting in Chapter X?

6. What is foreshadowed by Rose’s realization about leadership in Chapter X?

7. What is indicated symbolically by the letter from Ted Pickles in Chapter VIII?

8. What does Rose Pickles initially find attractive about Toby Raven in Chapter VIII? How do her feelings change?

9. What is revealed in the conversation between Lester and Oriel Lamb after the return of Quick in Chapter VII?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How would you describe the linear structure of Cloudstreet? Is the narrative of the story related from a present or past tense? Does the narrative have nonlinear elements? Are there flashbacks? What effect do these techniques have on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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