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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 many days do the four crew members sail on the passing steamer before the steamer reaches port?

2. When Jim sees Marlow face-to-face at the ship-chandlers, what does Marlow ask Jim?

3. Where is the ship that finds the Patna registered?

4. One night, Cornelius approaches Jim with an offer to get Jim safe passage away from Patusan. How much does Cornelius offer to charge Jim?

5. According to a rumor that Marlow hears on his journeys, what has Jim, a.k.a. the mysterious white man in Patusan, acquired?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the rumors that are circulating amongst the villagers after Dain Waris' camp has been attacked?

2. Describe what Jim's incarceration was like before he made his escape.

3. Why do the four men in the lifeboat assume that the Patna sinks?

4. Why is Marlow initially angered by Jim's reactions during the official inquiry into the Patna incident?

5. After learning through Marlow of Brierly's offer to give Jim a "loan" if he flees from the inquiry, how does Jim react, and why?

6. Marlow insists Jim take something with him on his journey. What is the object and why does the gift not work out as Marlow intends?

7. Why is Jim dismayed by what he sees approaching the ship as the captain is trying to free the lifeboat and abandon the Patna?

8. Why is the letter from Jim's father significant in explaining why Jim feels he can never go home?

9. After successfully landing on the shore, why is Brown simply playing along with Kassim?

10. Brown's encounter with Jewel at Stein's home reveals a pattern evident in Jim's life. What is the pattern?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many ways, the novel is a series of contrasts designed to heighten the reader's awareness and draw the reader deeper into the story, and detail the intricacies of each of the story's characters. Identify at least three contrasts that are used in the novel. Describe these contrasts and determine how they impact the story's plot, as well as the reader's emotional involvement in the characters' lives. If these identified contrasts were not included in the story, what impact would their absence have on the story line, the characters' development, and the readers' involvement?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characteristics, roles, loyalties, and agendas of the following people in the story: Marlow, Jim, Cornelius, and Stein.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the course of the novel, Jim is involved with two quite different supporters. Compare and contrast the relationship Jim has with Marlow to the relationship Jim has with Dain Waris. Then, compare and contrast the two men. How do these two relationships influence not only Jim, but the events that take place in Patusan?

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