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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Santiago mean when he thinks that man is not made for defeat?
(a) Man will always win over animals.
(b) Man can only be defeated if he loses his mind.
(c) Man cannot lose a battle.
(d) Man can be destroyed but not defeated.

2. Which line below gives an indication of Santiago's respect for nature?
(a) God help me to have the cramp go.
(b) He thought of how some men feared being out of sight of land in a small boat.
(c) I wish I could feed the fish, he thought. He is my brother.
(d) Light brisa, he thought, better weather for me than for you, fish.

3. What does the old man call the business of getting the marlin lashed to the skiff?
(a) Dugout work.
(b) Boy Scout work.
(c) Slave work.
(d) Easy work.

4. What does Santiago wish he could show the fish?
(a) What manner of man the fish was up against.
(b) How his hand was cramped.
(c) How many fathoms of line he had in the boat.
(d) His club he would use to kill the fish.

5. Santiago recalls catching marlin that weighed over a thousand pounds. Why is this time different?
(a) Before he was in a much larger boat.
(b) Before he always had someone to help him.
(c) This time he has only a small casting net with him.
(d) This time the fish shows no signs of tiring.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many rows of teeth does the Mako shark have?

2. When does Santiago realize the depth of his tiredness?

3. Thinking about what the marlin can see deep in the water, how does Santiago recall his own vision years ago?

4. What happens to Santiago as he carries the mast up the hill?

5. What complaint does the boy have about the fisherman he works for after he is forced to leave Santiago?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when the first shark attacks the marlin?

2. What is the metaphoric significance of the arm wrestling match in Casablanca?

3. Toward the end of the second day, Santiago assesses his situation and thinks he has several new advantages. What are they?

4. How do you know that Santiago only intended to fish for one day when he left to go far out into the sea?

5. Why is it important for Santiago to see the fish he has caught?

6. What significance does Santiago place on the sudden pull the fish makes on the line after swimming steadily all night long?

7. When there is another bite on one of his other lines, Santiago cuts it loose. Why?

8. There is something almost religious about Santiago's walk to his shack after landing with the bones of the marlin. Describe it.

9. What makes Manolin cry after he discovers the old man at his house?

10. Describe the danger the Portuguese man-of-war man of war poses to a fisherman in a boat.

(see the answer keys)

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