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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 scientific theory is the story "Games without End" based on?

2. What has opened up fissures in the ground?

3. What do the characters collect from the moon?

4. Does Qfwfq worry when he realizes he's completely forgotten what his sign is like?

5. When Qfwfq initially makes his second sign, how does he see it in comparison to his first?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mrs. Vhd Vhd act during her time trapped on the moon?

2. Describe what Qfwfq thinks as he nears the end of the first galactic revolution and believes he's about to see his sign again.

3. Describe Mrs. Ph(i)Nk_0.

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

5. Describe Qfwfq's creation of a galaxy.

6. What does Ayl do when she comes from her hiding place with Qfwfq and sees the colors?

7. What are Ayl and Qfwfq's attitudes toward difference and sameness?

8. What happens to the family and the planet after G'd(w)^n leaves?

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

10. What does G'd(w)^n make once matter begins to condense?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Calvino's stories often center around signs and symbols. Discuss the role of signs and symbols in COSMICOMICS.

1) Discuss signs in "A Sign in Space." What is Qfwfq's first sign meant to represent? How does its meaning and function change over the course of the story? What does the story say about the nature of signs?

2) Discuss signs in "The Light-Years." How do the signs in "The Light-Years" compare to those in "A Sign in Space"? What is the function of signs? What problems do signs present?

3) What signs and symbols appear in other stories? How do the characters use signs and symbols and interpret them?

Essay Topic 3

Because the stories in COSMICOMICS discuss the natural world examined by science, they address mankind's relationship to the natural world. Discuss the relationship between man and the natural world in COSMICOMICS.

1) What is the relationship between the world of mankind and the natural world of the mollusk in "The Spiral"?

2) How is mankind related to the evolution of the universe? How does life on Earth contrast with the natural world before life developed?

3) How do natural forces like evolution and changes in the universe affect characters in the stories?

(see the answer keys)

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