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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 the game Qfwfq and Pfwfp play, what happens when two hydrogen atoms collide to create a deuterium or helium atom?

2. What comes out of the fissures in the ground?

3. What does Qfwfq say made the sign recognizable?

4. Where does Mr. Pber^t Pber^d end up?

5. What is the name of the man G'd(w)^n eventually marries?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Qfwfq finally sees Ayl again, after the meteor flying overhead, how does he lure her away from her friends?

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

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

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

5. What object's beauty do Qfwfq and Ayl disagree about?

6. What does Granny say has happened after the darkness comes again at the end of the story?

7. How is the food that the characters collect from the moon made?

8. What happens when Qfwfq comes again to the place where his first sign was, and finds five signs there?

9. Describe Qfwfq's creation of a galaxy.

10. How does Pfwfp disguise new atoms as old ones?

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, 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?

Essay Topic 3

In several of the stories, a family forms the central group of characters. Discuss the portrayal and role of family in COSMICOMICS.

1) Discuss the family in "At Daybreak." What role does each family member play in the family as a whole? How does being a family affect the characters' interactions?

2) How are the communities in "The Distance of the Moon" and "All at One Point" similar to and different from families?

3) What role does family play in "The Aquatic Uncle"? How does the familial relationship between Qfwfq and his uncle affect the story?

4) What role does family play in "The Dinosaurs"? How does Fern-flower's relationship to her brother affect the story? What is the import of Qfwfq fathering a son?

(see the answer keys)

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