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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 Victor do with the liver tissue sample he gets from the hospital?

2. What does Victor at first think Gephardt must have done with what he purchased?

3. What does VJ do to his mother?

4. What does Marsha learn about VJ's school attendance from his principal?

5. Who does VJ leave the house with at the beginning of Chapter 13?

Short Essay Questions

1. How much of the secret lab does Victor see?

2. What happens to Sharon Carver at the end of Chapter 9?

3. What seems to have prompted VJ to stop going to daycare?

4. What does Marsha learn about David and VJ's relationship before David died?

5. Describe how Victor destroys the secret lab.

6. Describe Marsha and Victor's conflicting views of VJ during Chapter 12.

7. What do Victor and Marsha decide about VJ?

8. Why did VJ want to appear to be less intelligent?

9. Why does VJ let his father out of imprisonment?

10. What is the result of Marsha's discussion with her colleagues about VJ during Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel is a cautionary tale about scientific research and attempts to portray a story that might happen in the near future. How plausible is the story the novel tells?

1) How plausible is Victor's discovery and his ability to genetically modify human beings? How plausible is what Victor does with that discovery, by implanting modified embryos in three women?

2) How plausible is VJ's story? Are his personality problems plausible outcomes of genetic engineering? Are the secrets he keeps, including his secret lab and connections with Colombian drug dealers, plausible?

3) How plausible is Marsha's awakening realizations about VJ's problems at the age of 10? How plausible are her investigations and what she learns about her son?

4) How does the plausibility affect your experience of the novel and the communication of the author's message?

Essay Topic 2

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 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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