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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 did Pi first learn about Islam?

2. Who were the two men Pi called the "prophets of his youth"?

3. What do Pi's parents think about his being so religious?

4. According to Pi's father, what kind of an environment do animals seek?

5. What was under the tarp on the boat?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part1, Chapter 9, Pi discusses what observation about animal behavior?

2. The book begins in Part 1, Chapter 1 with many unanswered questions. What are some of these questions?

3. Who is the character introduced in Part 1, Chapter 2?

4. In Part 2, Chapter 43, what did Pi believe is off the lifeboat, as he convinced himself he only had to survive a few hours in the lifeboat before search and rescue teams arrive by ship?

5. How does Pi react to the story of Jesus in Part 1, Chapter 17?

6. How do Pi's parents view him in Part 1, Chapter 27?

7. How did Satish Kumar influence Pi's studies?

8. How are the zebra and the orangutan anthropomorphized in Part 2, Chapter 45?

9. In Part 2, Chapter 50, Pi says, "How true it is that necessity is the mother of invention, how very true." What does this quote reference?

10. What does the closing sentence of Part 1, Chapter 35 foreshadow?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of Orange Juice and the hyena in the story?

Essay Topic 2

Is Richard Parker a human or a tiger? Using Chapter 2, the early chapters about animal behavior, and Richard Parker's behavior once shipwrecked, describe whether you believe he is a human or a tiger.

Essay Topic 3

When Pi finds the first island, he leaves it out of fear of the island being cannibalistic. Discuss what the symbolism of this island is to Pi and to the overall story.

(see the answer keys)

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