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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 is reported to have happened to a man named Nomland who lived near the canal?

2. Who made the prediction that Mars would become an altered planet by the new settlers?

3. Why did the settlers who are now living on Mars decide to come to Mars?

4. Where do the boys hike?

5. Who bans Stendahl from building the house on Earth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes the destruction of the house and how does the house react?

2. Why do the owner of the luggage store and Father Peregrine believe that people will no longer be coming to Mars?

3. What does the family do to keep warm on its first night on Mars and what does it symbolize?

4. What does Stendahl reply when asked what he is planning to do with the house?

5. What happens to the boys when they return to their homes after playing the sick game with the dead Martians?

6. For what was the town called Red Town named?

7. Describe the game the young Earth boys play that disturbs and disgusts the parents.

8. What do you think LaFarge hears in the backyard and why does he bolt the door and not explore the noise?

9. How does the author let the reader know that the family that once lived in the autonomously run house has been killed in the atomic blast?

10. Why does Hathaway believe he and his family are going to be rescued and how long as he been waiting to be rescued?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the colonization of Mars change throughout the novel? Do you believe the changes represent a circle? In what way or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Toward the end of the novel, many characters choose solitude over companionship. Why do you believe the characters make this choice? Can you ever see a time when you might make this choice? Explain your reasons.

Essay Topic 3

What is the purpose of the chapter called Usher II which is directly related to Edgar Allen Poe? Is it important that it be included? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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