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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. After what type of animal does Ford name the security robot?

2. What is the advice of the man on the pole?

3. How long did it take Arthur to get to NowWhat?

4. What caused the aliens to come get Tricia?

5. When, according to Chapter 3, did all known gods come into existence?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the aliens tell Tricia about Elvis?

2. At the relocation office, when Arthur imagines himself back on Earth, what does he imagine doing?

3. How does Arthur recognize the maps of NowWhat?

4. How do the aliens on Arthur's new planet physically differ from humans?

5. According to Eric the gardener, what happened to Mrs. Williams' cat?

6. What concerns Gail about her interview with Tricia?

7. Why is Arthur the sole survivor of the space ship crash?

8. What metaphor does Tricia think of, for trying to live life according to a plan?

9. What is the old lady at the cave doing, when Arthur comes to see her?

10. What happens to the crew of the Grebulon ship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss communication in the novel.

1) What types of failures of communication appear in the novel? How do Ford and Arthur fail to communicate with each other?

2) How do Arthur and Random fail to communicate with each other? Why does Random have such difficulty communicating?

3) What is the relationship between differing perspectives and failed communication in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss language in the novel and the author's use of language.

1) How does the author play with language? How does the author create humor by manipulating language?

2) How does the author use irony in the novel? What other types of figurative language does the author use?

3) How does the author use naming and terminology in the book? What is the significance of the names of planets, objects, scientific ideas, and characters?

Essay Topic 3

In Mostly Harmless, multiple dimensions or possible universes are converging and crossing over into each other. The characters deal with the full range of possibilities. Discuss multiple dimensions in the novel.

1) What is the WSOGMM? Why is this idea important to the novel?

2) Why is it difficult or impossible for any one person to comprehend the totality of dimensions or universes? Why is it dangerous for the Guide to comprehend everything?

3) How do multiple potential possibilities affect the characters in the novel? How does the existence of multiple potential possibilities allow the new Guide to manipulate reality?

(see the answer keys)

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