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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Part 3, Chapter 11, what does Cummings do when he gets the destroyer?

2. As he is being carried through the jungle to the beach, Wilson dies. What do the men carrying Wilson do after he dies?

3. In Part 3, Chapter 13, did Martinez defy Croft, why or why not?

4. One night on the mountain, Martinez expresses his wish for a chaplain. At this, Polack tells the men his opinion of religion. How does Polack feel about religion?

5. After Wilson dies, how does Ridges feel regarding God?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mailer uses a common literary tool of a flashback in a very unusual way. This purpose of this method is to provide the reader with additional information about the characters.

1) What is the time machine?

2) How does Mailer use this story telling method for character development?

3) Do any of the character learn anything from remembering their past and comparing it to the present?

Essay Topic 2

The following essay will be on the Inner conflict of Cummings. Write an essay to address the following questions.

1) Describe the inner conflict of Cummings.

2) How did Cummings deal with his own conflict.

3) Cummings kept this conflict private except in one instance with Hearn. Describe that instance and explain how Hearn's feelings toward Cummings changed.

4) Be the end of the story, had Cummings come to terms with his inner conflict?

Essay Topic 3

The men were inundated with fighting, illness, death, and injury while on the island. These events seem to cause each man to think about his own life and his own chances of leaving the island alive.

1) What are some of the superstitions held by the men on the island?

2) Do these superstitions serve as a type of foreshadowing?

3) Explain your answer by providing examples.

(see the answer keys)

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