View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Qfwfq feel about N'ba N'ga?

2. What does the narrator say the sign "This time I like you." refers to?

3. During what period did the dinosaurs die out?

4. What does N'ba N'ga say his relatives get from living on land?

5. What does the narrator describe the making of his shell as?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the New Ones' perception of dinosaurs change over the time Qfwfq is with them?

2. What does the narrator think the first sign he sees is referring to?

3. How does the narrator describe being with Ursula H'x when their routes intersect?

4. Why does the narrator not want to show his desire to meet Ursula at the beginning of the story "The Form of Space"?

5. How does Lll react when she first meets N'ba N'ga?

6. What is the attitude of the New Ones to the Dinosaurs, when Qfwfq first encounters the New Ones after his period of isolation?

7. What does N'ba N'ga like about the water where he lives?

8. Describe Lieutenant Fenimore.

9. What second enormous hand sign does the narrator make, and why?

10. When does the narrator suppose that he might finally meet Ursula, and what does he fear about that potential meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,049 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample