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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. Who delivers the baby, VJ?

2. Who do the computer records show deleted files off Victor's computer?

3. Where do Mark, Maurice, and VJ's fathers all work?

4. Does Marsha trust the accuracy of the psychological tests of VJ?

5. Where does Victor tell Marsha he must take her to explain his position?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does NGF do, and what role does Cephaloclor play?

2. What has happened to Maurice, and how does Victor react?

3. What do the similarities between the three boys' births and unusual aptitudes imply?

4. What is Victor's attitude toward Marsha?

5. What is the implication of Mark and Maurice's illnesses?

6. What does Marsha tell Victor about his race with VJ, and how does Victor react?

7. What does William Hurst argue with Victor about?

8. What does VJ do after receiving the phone call, after his parents have left?

9. What does Victor do with the tissue samples he brings back from the hospital?

10. What does VJ's preschool teacher say about him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the nature of knowledge in the novel.

1) How do scientists in the novel make discoveries? What are the limitations of their knowledge about what they are doing and the consequences of their actions?

2) What can and cannot be known in the novel? What different types of knowledge are there?

3) What should and should not be known in the novel? Are certain types of knowledge dangerous?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the conflict of nature and science in the novel.

1) What is the metaphoric significance of the river, a force of nature, and the clock tower, a work of science, in the novel? How is this metaphor carried out through the novel and especially at its end?

2) How do nature and science conflict in Victor's work? When science manipulates nature, what is the result?

3) In the novel, can mankind succeed in taming or defying nature? To what extent? Support your answer with evidence from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Responsibility is an important aspect of Victor's relationship to VJ. Discuss responsibility in the novel.

1) What responsibilities does Victor have toward VJ, as his father? What additional responsibilities does Victor take on, by making the decision to genetically engineer VJ? How does Victor fulfill or shirk his responsibilities?

2) Is Victor's death at the end a consequence of his responsibility toward VJ as his creator?

3) As a parent, what are Marsha's responsibilities toward VJ? How does Marsha fulfill or shirk her responsibilities?

(see the answer keys)

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