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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. From what do most of the boarders at Cy's home suffer?
2. What does Cy observe in other people's eyes?
3. What does Riley come to understand while at sea?
4. What does Cy realize about life?
5. Upon what does the town council frown?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Cy recall as he studies cloud formations and what might this foreshadow?
2. What upsets the town council and what is Reeda's response?
3. What does Jonty say about Riley; is it likely to be true?
4. Describe the type of clients that are often drawn to Riley's tattoo parlor.
5. How does Cy slip into starting to tattoo instead of just watching Riley and what is Riley's response?
6. How does Cy's apprenticeship fare and what is an important lesson Cy learns?
7. There are many instances of foreshadowing in this opening section. Name one and venture a guess as to what it could foreshadow.
8. What convinces Cy that the first part of his life has ended?
9. How does the topic of sex give Cy some not-so-great memories?
10. What experience causes Cy to no longer be able to sleep under tight blankets?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The following idea is found in Part 1, "Bloodlights": Symbols from sports, the religion of the masses, along with hearts and flowers are easily understood, but women and fish intertwined are something entirely different. The association is primal and instinctual. Cy can draw dozens of mermaids in a variety of provocative, sultry, saucy poses. The smell, taste and slipperiness of the territory men worship between a woman's legs are transformed into images as aphrodisiac as oysters. The designs have been perfected over centuries, half woman, half cunt-fish and eternal sex. Choose one of the following and write a well-developed, cohesive essay using examples from the text and your research or personal experience:
1. Respond to the statement above and answer the following questions: What does this statement mean to you? Is it sexist? Does it portray women in a derogatory fashion? Or set them up on an unreachable pedestal? Compare and contrast the way you think a man would interpret the above statement versus a woman.
2. Trace the image of the mermaid throughout the text citing where it appears and analyze the context within the situation where it appears. How does the image of mermaids fit into the context of the book as a whole?
3. In Part 1, Salvaging Renaissance, Cy thinks to himself that he would like to court some of the customers, but he knows Riley's rules of courtship are to learn to slap, grip, fist and dog-mount them. How is that statement like and unlike the one mentioned at the beginning? What does each statement say about Cy as a man? About Riley as a man?
Essay Topic 2
Near the very end of the book after Cy has returned to Morecambe, he takes on an apprentice, Nina Shearer. Choose one of the following and write a well-developed, cohesive essay using examples from the text and your research or personal experience:
1. Compare and contrast Nina's behavior as an apprentice to Cy's behavior as an apprentice.
2. Compare and contrast Riley's teaching methods to Cy's teaching methods.
3. Discuss how effective Riley and Cy's teaching methods are and Cy and Nina's learning methods are and the strengths and weaknesses of each. To which teacher would you more likely be similar? Which apprentice?
Essay Topic 3
In Part 2, "Babylon in Brooklyn," Cy views Henry as a younger, benign, redeemable version of Riley. Answer the following questions and write a well-developed, cohesive essay using examples from the text and your research or personal experience:
1. Compare and contrast Riley and Henry.
2. Why do you think Cy is willing to take on those who need a nursemaid in a sense? (Riley, Henry, Grace) Look at the characters in the book that Cy seems to partly "caregive" and compare how Cy treats each one.
3. Do you think Cy would have been willing to take care of Grace after her disfigurement had she been willing for him to do so? How do you think their relationship would have changed over time? Better or worse?
4. How do you reconcile the young Cy at the book's opening who abhors holding basins for ill boarders with the one who seems willing to symbolically do so?
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This section contains 1,451 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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