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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 the robot look like in the section of "Plasticene Suite" titled "Little Robot"?

2. What has been long-abandoned near the ponds in "This Fjord Looks Like a Lake"?

3. How can one tell a wolf's mood in "Short Takes on Wolves"?

4. Why does the spider dislike the floor in "Spider Signatures"?

5. What does the speaker fear the children will grow up without in "Oh Children"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the speaker in the poem "Feather" make sure not to waste?

2. What does the editor in the poem "Editorial Notes" suggest the speaker do for the readers?

3. What is the problem in the old story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice in the poem by the same name?

4. What does the siren wonder about in the poem "Siren Brooding on Her Eggs"?

5. In the poem "Fatal Light Awareness," what do we know that the birds do not?

6. What are the two things "he" is afraid of in "Fear of Birds"?

7. Generally, how do the aliens act towards humans in the poem "The Aliens Arrive"?

8. How does Atwood reimagine werewolves in the poem "Update on Werewolves"?

9. What should have been inside the dead bird instead of plastic in the poem "Midway Island Albatross"?

10. What tense does not exist at the conference in the poem "At the Translation Conference" and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Atwood treat the topic of domestic violence in different poems in this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What are some of Atwood's pieces of advice to readers regarding the topics of aging and death? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

In the poem "Blizzard" in Part I, Atwood refers to her very elderly mother as "fighting the storm." Write an essay exploring what Atwood likely means with this phrase, analyzing how Atwood uses weather symbolically.

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