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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 kind of act does Ishmael say the agricultural revolution was?
2. What knowledge does Ishmael say the early flyers would have fond useful in their attempts?
3. What does Ishmael say is ironic about the story the Takers adopted about two thousand years ago?
4. How does Ishmael describe the first farmers?
5. For whose benefit does Ishmael say the Leavers accumulate and preserve knowledge?
Short Essay Questions
1. What objection does Ishmael make to the narrator’s questions at the beginning of Chapter 11?
2. What reading does Ishmael give the Bible story of Cain and Abel?
3. What are the gods wary of, in letting Adam have the knowledge of good and evil?
4. How does Ishmael characterize the work of competing for food in Taker culture?
5. What does the narrator say is the consequence of the Takers’ culture?
6. What do Ishmael and the narrator agree on for a definition of ‘culture’?
7. How do Ishmael and the narrator say that culture changed when the agricultural revolution took place?
8. What keeps the narrator from returning to the office building for a few days?
9. What is man’s role and responsibility as Ishmael describes it from the Leavers’ perspective?
10. Describe the narrator’s negotiations with Art Owens.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
When is Ishmael most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?
Essay Topic 2
What is missing from this book? What should have been covered or presented that was not? What is the effect of this absence? Describe an element that ought to have been covered, and explain why it would have made the book stronger.
Essay Topic 3
In what ways is Ishmael relevant to contemporary readers? What contemporary issues are in play in the book, and how would the book contribute to contemporary discussion? Cite specific discussions from contemporary sources, and cite specific instances from the book that describe its contemporary relevance.
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This section contains 919 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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