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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. How do the neighbors respond to the presence of the baby?

2. In what year does Francis Fairfax arrive in Lythe?

3. Where does Isobel think she has been transported one day on her way home from school?

4. For how long does Gordon disappear after his wife is gone?

5. What is the date of the setting of the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Audrey, and how does her father treat her?

2. What does Isobel say are Charles' hobbies, and how does he relate one of his hobbies to his mother?

3. Where is Audrey's mother and how has her mother impacted Audrey and Charles' life?

4. What gets Debbie's party off to a bad start?

5. What does Isobel, the narrator at the beginning of the novel, discuss in the first part of the novel?

6. What does Isobel write about both her and her brother's physical looks?

7. What leads to Isobel's house being infested with fleas?

8. What business does Charlotte run and what are her long term intentions?

9. What do the neighbors think of the new baby in the Fairfax household?

10. What does Isobel observe on a visit to the Baxters in autumn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melinda is sixteen when the novel opens. Discuss the following:

1. What are some ways that Melinda seems like an average sixteen year old? Give examples and why you say the activities are average teen activities.

2. What are some ways that Isobel seems older than her age of 16? Give specific examples and discuss whether they seem consistent with the character of Isobel as she is developed throughout the book.

3. Is it realistic to think Isobel could handle the situations that arise in the novel alone? Where do you think Isobel could have turned to for help?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation whereby Hilary and Isobel eventually become good friends. Discuss two other incidences of irony in "Human Croquet".

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use of and meaning of five symbols found in "Human Croquet".

3. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in literature. What is the purpose of foreshadowing? Cite 3 examples of foreshadowing and how it is used to indicate events to come in "Human Croquet".

Essay Topic 3

Often titles reveal much about one or more aspects of a novel. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think is the purpose of a title? How closely related to a major theme(s) of a book do you think a title should be? Or should it be?

2. The phrase "Human Croquet" appears several times in the book. Discuss that theme and how it is related to the title.

3. If you were the writer of "Human Croquet" and your editor says the title must be changed, what would you choose? Why?

4. How do you feel when you have finished reading a book, and you still do not understand the meaning of the title in relation to the book?

(see the answer keys)

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