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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the narrator say, in Chapter 4, that he got himself to see the middle of the story?
(a) By thinking about what a Martian observer would see
(b) By thinking about the moments when he learned the story himself
(c) By thinking about writing it as a treatment for Nova
(d) By thinking about telling it to a child

2. What is a koan?
(a) A spur to meditation
(b) A riddle
(c) A secret.
(d) A paradox

3. In Chapter 4, why does the narrator say he does not display the emotion he wants when the narrator finally realizes the truth of what Ishmael has been talking about?
(a) He says that the pleasure of seeing is intellectual for him, not emotional
(b) He says that he is more flabbergasted than he could express
(c) He says that he does not show his emotions
(d) He says that he still does not see

4. What does Ishmael say, in Chapter 2, about the path he will take the narrator on?
(a) He need not remember the route
(b) He should pay careful attention to the route they will take
(c) Every step will correspond with a mystical experience
(d) There is no going back once you start

5. When does the narrator recognize Ishmael in Chapter 1?
(a) When Ishmael speaks to him
(b) When he is staring into his own eyes
(c) When Ishmael growls
(d) When the keeper forces Ishmael to move

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the narrator’s reaction when he hears the rival creation story Ishmael tells in Chapter 4?

2. How does Ishmael get the narrator to recognize the limitation of his creation myth?

3. When does the narrator’s creation story begin?

4. What is the office building like, where the narrator answers the newspaper ad?

5. When does Ishmael say he was truly born?

(see the answer key)

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