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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. O'Connell acknowledges in Chapter 1: Tribulations that which of his own actions hastens the end of the world?

2. O'Connell discusses a piece of media called Doomsday Preppers. What was it?

3. How old was O'Connell when a family member told him about the nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia?

4. O'Connell claims that doomsday preppers and their actions are completely devoid of which human element?

5. During O'Connell's study of the doomsday prepping movement, he came to see the movement as "a hysterical symptom of" what "itself" (20)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What main theme do all of the pieces within Notes from an Apocalypse revolve?

2. What type of event did O'Connell attend in order to learn about the Mars Society?

3. How does O'Connell use specific word choice to mirror the themes of the text?

4. Discuss an instance of irony within the text.

5. To what location did O'Connell travel one November, as described in Chapter 4: Bolt-Hole?

6. For what reason does O'Connell allude to a television show called Mars in Chapter 5: Off-World Colony?

7. How does O'Connell acknowledge that colonialism has brought about its own kind of apocalypse?

8. What does the acronym WROL stand for within the prepping movement?

9. What evidence does O'Connell provide for his conclusion that human anxiety is building?

10. What quality sets apart the modern conception of the apocalypse from the older versions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read a lengthy interview with O'Connell. Write an essay explaining the connection between several of O'Connell’s answers and a main message presented within the text of Notes From an Apocalypse.

Essay Topic 2

In what way does O'Connell go about breaking the text into parts and how do these structural elements help to advance the text’s arguments?

Essay Topic 3

Examine how O'Connell goes about connecting personal experience with the arguments put forth within Notes From an Apocalypse. How does O'Connell accomplish this goal and how does this goal relate to the overarching themes of the text?

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