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. While living alone, what book does Ish begin reading that makes him uneasy?

2. What type of animal begins to invade the city after Ish and Em find one another?

3. When Ish drives to a certain building after finding out Em is pregnant, 
how does he manage to get inside?

4. What animal does Ish see in his neighbor's yard that doesn't seem to belong there?

5. When pondering about mankind, Ish comes up with a definition for them. What definition does he use?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Ish so concerned about finding people who can "fix" civilization?

2. Why are Richard and Robert chosen for the expedition instead of the other men?

3. How is it significant that Ish has not passed on the tradition of carving the year into the rock? What effect may this have later?

4. Why does Ish decide that most of the items on his original list of survival characteristics are useless?

5. Where did the Tribe bury Charlie?

6. What is one good reason why the Tribe should merge with the other tribe?

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

8. What was the significance of Ish taking the hammer with him to meet Charlie instead of another weapon?

9. How do the older people treat Charlie?

10. What trick do the children play every year at New Years?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the end, Ish's version of "civilization" didn't turn out the way he planned. Is it better that his personal vision wasn't realized, or do you think that it would have been better if he could have completely restored civilization? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

As the book progresses, the author puts a number of subtle hints into the text about how things are changing. For instance, at the end of the book, immediately before Ish dies, a messenger comes to report that the tribe is going to move. Why did the author choose this point in the story for the tribe to move? Do you think they only moved because of the fire? What could the events surrounding this final scene symbolize?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the book, there are particular characters that Ish becomes much more attached to than others. For instance, Em, Princess, and Joey seem to be the most important to Ish, though he has many more children, and at one point, another wife. Why were these characters more important to Ish than the others? What could each character possibly symbolize?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 783 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample