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. In Year Nine, (The Year of the Deaths) what causes almost everyone to
 become ill?

2. What vegetable does Ish grow in his garden in Year Two of the Quick Years?

3. At one point, Ish considers suicide, but there is one particular reason he decides not to kill himself. What gives Ish the will to live?

4. In the beginning, how does Ish go about finding other people?

5. What does Ish find when he arrives home after his trip to the east coast?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do Ish's own children think of Evie the same way that he does?

2. Jack tells Ish about how they have found great quantities of a certain object, all of which have different pictures. Can you name one of the people in the pictures?

3. Why does Em start crying when she tells Ish about her pregnancy?

4. Is Ish a good leader for the Tribe? Why or why not?

5. How does the Tribe see Ish?

6. Are the other Tribe members as dedicated to education as Ish is? Why or why not?

7. Why do Ish's feelings about the execution seem to be very different than the feelings of the others?

8. Has Ish changed over the years? Why?

9. What event at the end of Chapter 5 both frightens and saddens Ish?

10. What day of the year do Ish and Em choose to be their New Year's Day? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the beginning of the story, Ish is referred to as a person who doesn't do well in social gatherings. Later in the book, Ish decides that he is, ironically, happier than he would have been if things had been normal, but still, he never seems satisfied that civilization hasn't returned to the way it was before. Why do you think Ish never seems to be satisfied? How do you think this affects him, and the fate of the people who look up to him?

Essay Topic 2

Several times throughout the text, the author makes a point to show Ish finding places that were once inhabited by Indian tribes and other indigenous people. When Ish and Em start to mark out the time, they do it in the same place, and almost in the same fashion, as ancient peoples. How is this significant?

Essay Topic 3

How is it significant that Ish said that he would never be a god, but in the end, he becomes a god to his people? Do you think Ish could have prevented this? What was it about his own behavior that caused Ish's life to turn out differently than he planned?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 810 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample