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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 possession of Mrs. Partridge's does Basie sell to Mrs. Blackburn?

2. What does Jim retrieve for Mr. Maxted from the Japanese soldiers?

3. What does Basie have a collection of in the shipyard?

4. Why is Jim initially rejected from going to the prison camp?

5. What does Jim watch from the roof of the truck?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Jim's fascination with Vera's parents?

2. What does Jim think is the real meaning of war?

3. What happens to Jim when he returns to the truck outside of Nantao?

4. What does Jim think of his fellow prisoners from other countries?

5. What has Jim's return to Shanghai after the war been like?

6. What effects does the rumor that the Japanese will cut rations again have?

7. What does Jim find when he returns to Lunghua from his parents' house?

8. Describe Basie's cubicle.

9. What convinces Jim that the war is actually over?

10. Why is Jim so affected by the sight of the dead kamikaze pilot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of this statement: "He had learned that having someone to care for was the same as being cared for by someone else."

Essay Topic 2

Using at least three examples, discuss how Ballard uses planes throughout the story. Do different country's planes mean different things? Does their meaning change?

Essay Topic 3

In an essay, discuss Jim's belief that there will be, and in fact is, a "next war." What is it, and where?

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This section contains 945 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample