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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 comes out of the fissures in the ground?

2. Who knows about Mrs. Ph(i)nK_0's sexual affair?

3. What does Qfwfq suspect, when he figures out that Pfwfp is stockpiling hydrogen atoms?

4. Who is Qfwfq in love with?

5. What instrument does Mrs. Vhd Vhd play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What traps Ayl at the end of the story?

2. What happens to the aunts and uncles when they leave?

3. What does Qfwfq try to communicate with Ayl when they first meet?

4. In the story, one of the characters accidentally floats up into the air. Describe how that character comes back down.

5. Why does Qfwfq say that the sign is more important than its function of marking a place?

6. How does Qfwfq describe the new atoms that are formed?

7. When Qfwfq's father says they are hitting something, why doesn't Qfwfq understand what he means?

8. How does Pfwfp start acting strangely, as the game between him and Qfwfq goes on?

9. What outstanding physical characteristics does Mr. Pber^t Pber^d have?

10. How does Qfwfq try to help Mrs. Vhd Vhd get back down to Earth, after the moon begins behaving strangely?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The stories in COSMICOMICS take place at different points of the universe, where distance and space play an important role. Discuss space and distance in COSMICOMICS.

1) What role does space and distance play in "All at One Point"? How does the confinement of a single point of space compare to the expanded universe and affect characters' perceptions and behaviors?

2) What role does space and distance play in "The Distance of the Moon" and "The Form of Space"? How does distance relate to love and attraction?

3) What role does space and distance play in "Games Without End?" What does the ending of the story say about space and distance?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout COSMICOMICS, Qfwfq and the unnamed narrator have rivalries with other characters. Discuss rivalry in COSMICOMICS.

1) The narrator has rivalries for love in "The Form of Space," "The Aquatic Uncle," and "The Distance of the Moon." How does love relate to rivalry? What causes the rivalries in these stories, and how are rivalries based on competing love unique?

2) The narrator has rivalries based on competition in "A Sign in Space," "Games without End," and "How Much Shall We Bet?" How does competition relate to rivalry? What causes the rivalries in these stories? How is competition resolved?

3) How are rivalries perpetuated in Calvino's stories?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout COSMICOMICS, perception affects and often creates reality. Discuss the relationship of perception and reality in COSMICOMICS.

1) How do others' opinions of Qfwfq (or the unnamed narrator) shape his opinion of himself and his actions in Calvino's stories?

2) In "All at One Point," how does shared perception create reality? Why is shared perception more powerful than individual perception?

3) How do the different characters' perceptions of change in "At Daybreak" and "Without Colors" affect their experience of reality?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 895 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample