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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 does Qfwfq do when he locates Ayl?

2. What does Qwfwq find when he finally reaches the point that contained his sign?

3. Where is Mrs. Vhd Vhd at the end of the story?

4. What does Qfwfq say made the sign recognizable?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Qfwfq's creation of a galaxy.

2. What skills does the Deaf One have that make it easiest for him to climb up to the moon?

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

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

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

6. How does Qfwfq react after he sees that his sign is obliterated?

7. Why does Qfwfq fear making a third true sign?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Calvino's stories deal with communication between an individual and the world around him. Discuss communication in Calvino's stories.

1) In "The Light Years," how does the narrator communicate with others? What problems are there in communication?

2) In "The Form of Space," how does the narrator communicate with the other characters? What role does communication play in the story?

3) How well do the characters in COSMICOMICS communicate with the ones they love? How well, and in what way, do the characters communicate with their rivals?

4) In "A Sign in Space," how does Qfwfq communicate through his sign? What meaning and communication does Qfwfq receive from other signs? What is the role of communication in the story?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the stories in COSMICOMICS deal with change and stasis, and the characters' reactions to changes in their world. Discuss change and stasis in COSMICOMICS.

1) Which of the stories in COSMICOMICS are set at moments of change in the development of the universe? How do the characters respond to change?

2) Are there patterns to how different types of characters respond to change in COSMICOMICS? How do women respond differently than men? How do older people respond differently to younger people?

3) What is the role of stasis in COSMICOMICS? In what way are the end of "Games without End" and the parallel falls in "The Form of Space" representations of stasis, in contrast to change represented in other stories?

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