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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. Where does Captain Halsey temporarily dock the Louisiana after the storm?

2. What floats into the train station, causing the people waiting there to be alarmed for the first time?

3. How many feet above sea level is Dr. Young's yard?

4. What is everywhere as the storm waters rise?

5. Where do they find Cora Cline's body?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Louisa Rollfing experience when she and her children try to take a coach to her mother-in-law's house?

2. What does Isaac claim that he did after observing conditions on the beach the morning of the storm?

3. What does Louise Hopkins' mother do when the water started to rise?

4. What happens to the second train headed to Galveston the day of the storm?

5. What is Col. William Sterett's experience as he enters Galveston?

6. What does Dr. Young experience as darkness falls on Galveston?

7. How do Joseph's and Isaac's accounts of the hurricane differ in tone?

8. What is John Blagden experiencing during the storm?

9. How do people in Galveston initially react to the storm?

10. How does Galveston handle the overwhelming number of dead bodies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the title of each of the major parts of the book, their subtle meanings, and the way they add to the narrative.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the use of descriptive and figurative language used throughout the story and the effect they have on the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

What is both surprising and tragic about how the residents of Galveston are first unaware of the storm and then revel in its onset? At what moment does the city seem to realize that this is going to end very badly?

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