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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 does Marsha ask Victor to destroy?

2. What happens to Maurice that causes his family to call an ambulance?

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

4. What does William Hobbs ask Victor for?

5. How old is VJ at the beginning of Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Victor see that he was doing on the day that the records show the missing files were deleted from his computer?

4. Compare Marsha and Victor's attitudes toward their son.

5. Describe the relationship between VJ and Philip.

6. What are Marsha's concerns about VJ?

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

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

9. What does the baby do with the object it grabs when it is first born?

10. What is the company's conflict with George Gephardt?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the settings of the novel.

1) Discuss the setting of the Chimera compound. How does the size of the compound affect the story? How does the security of the compound affect the story?

2) Discuss the setting of the clock tower and river. What do the clock tower and river add to the tone and mood of the story? How do they help the plot of the story to develop?

3) How do the time the novel is set in and the time period the novel was written in affect it? Will the novel continue to be relevant as time passes?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

One important element in the novel is the nature of science. Discuss the nature of science as portrayed in the novel.

1) What is the purpose of science? What do the characters in the novel use science to accomplish?

2) Is science in itself good, bad, or neutral? How does the novel put a value on science?

3) How does the portrayal of science in the novel compare to the reality of science?

(see the answer keys)

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