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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. How does the old man get hurt when the fish yanks on the line?
(a) The yank causes his back to ache.
(b) The old man falls over and hits his head.
(c) The line cuts his hand where he was holding it.
(d) The line gets tangled around his feet.

2. After Santiago goes back to sleep, what is he dreaming of?
(a) Sharks.
(b) Lions.
(c) Broken knives.
(d) Catching a larger fish.

3. As his head becomes unclear again, what does Santiago ask himself?
(a) Is he bringing me in or am I bringing him in?
(b) Why didn't I just tow him behind the skiff?
(c) What happened to the marlin's dignity?
(d) Why am I not dreaming of lions?

4. What happens to Santiago as he carries the mast up the hill?
(a) He has a heart attack and dies.
(b) He gets tangled up in the sail.
(c) He falls and cannot get up.
(d) He hears the boy calling his name.

5. What brings Santiago awake suddenly in the night?
(a) Another plane flies over at a low altitude.
(b) It starts to rain.
(c) The smell of the leftover raw fish.
(d) The marlin is jumping again and again out of the sea.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does he get something to eat?

2. Santiago's respect for nature and the marlin he has on his line is profound. What does he think about the people who will eat the great fish?

3. Santiago recalls catching marlin that weighed over a thousand pounds. Why is this time different?

4. What does the old man imagine about the marlin if it had been alive?

5. Even though the boy can no longer fish with Santiago, how does he show his loyalty?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the literary purpose of references to Joe DiMaggio in the story?

2. How does the conflict intensify on the second night?

3. Why did Santiago decide he could sleep a while on the second night?

4. Since the fish is too large to fit into the boat, how does Santiago plan on getting it back to shore?

5. What knowledge does seeing the marlin bring to the old man?

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

7. How does Hemingway demonstrate Santiago's expertise as a sailor and fisherman?

8. Why can the old man not let go of the line as the big fish tows his skiff farther out to sea?

9. Describe the last moments that define the valor of the great marlin.

10. What new indication tells Santiago and the reader that this is a truly remarkable fish after the moonlight jump?

(see the answer keys)

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