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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 happened to the one teacher who took a special interest in VJ?

2. What does Victor find was in Maurice and Mark's systems when they died?

3. What does Victor find when he goes to Gephardt's house?

4. What does Victor try to see at the secret lab?

5. Where were Gephardt's fraudulent purchases delivered?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conclusion does Marsha form about the security employees at VJ's lab?

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

3. What do the police do about the dead body Marsha finds when she arrives home?

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

5. What does Victor ask the IT staff to do for him, regarding the files that have been found missing?

6. What happens to Victor when he's searching the clock tower?

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

8. Describe how Victor destroys the secret lab.

9. How do VJ and Victor interact, when they go to VJ's lab in Chapter 13?

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

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

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 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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