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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. Why does Lester have an appointment with the banker, Llewellyn?

2. In Chapter 9, why does Norman feel certain the threatening storm will pass them by?

3. Why is Norman so concerned about Iris Tramm's drinking?

4. What other good fortune does Norman credit to Hippolyte?

5. Where is Norman told he will find the person he is looking for after he returns from Miss Buckley's office?

Short Essay Questions

1. What announcement does Norman make while out on the boat with the Tilsons and Iris?

2. Why does Church Wagner disappear right before the Tilson party?

3. What does Sheila finally do after the disaster with the cistern?

4. What does Chunky Collins tell Norman about his friend Lionel?

5. What is the loud noise that stops Iris and Norman as they are making up the rooms?

6. What do Iris and Norman do instead of the picnic at Dingley Dell they have planned?

7. What happens between Lester and Hippolyte that upsets Norman?

8. Why does Norman think Hippolyte's return to the Gull Reef Club is going to be a problem?

9. When Norman returns to the club after his visit with Miss Buckley, he realizes Esme is not at her post at the switchboard. Where is she?

10. The morning after Norman and Iris's interlude, Norman has to pick up his family, Sheldon, and Lester at the airport. What else is he expecting at the airport?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is a mid-life crisis? Do all men go through a mid-life crisis? How was Norman's mid-life crisis similar or different from other men? What triggered his mid-life crisis? Give examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

If you were to write a review of this novel what would you say about it? What aspects of the novel might be more favorable to different people? Give examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 3

In the opening pages the author provides an extensive history of the island of Amerigo. Does this history play into the story? For reasons of realism, is the history of this fictional island similar to the actual history of some real Caribbean islands? In what ways? Give examples from the text to support your responses.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 890 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample