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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 does John Osbourne tell Dwight?

2. Where is the radiation sickness by August?

3. Where do they think there are no people living?

4. What are Peter and Mary doing now?

5. What are they giving away at the Pastoral Club now?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do things begin to slow down in Melbourne?

2. Explain the surprise Moira has for Dwight when they meet for lunch.

3. How is John Osbourne different in the face of coming death?

4. How does being in the submarine compare to racing the Ferrari to John?

5. On the long voyage of the Scorpion, what are they able to learn about San Francisco?

6. What is the understanding between Dwight and Moira that is verbalized on their fishing trip?

7. What condition does Peter put on his continuing service in the Navy?

8. Describe the symbolism of Dwight's thinking about his family while on board the Scorpion.

9. Explain Dwight's change of status on the return trip from the north.

10. Explain what prevents Dwight from going fishing for trout before September 1st.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about ON THE BEACH as a valuable resource for arguing against nuclear proliferation. In your essay include who should read the book as required reading. These people should be drawn from government and military sources, religious sources, and concerned individuals.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on stoicism in the face of death. Use John Osbourne as your example of a person who knows what to expect and accepts the inevitable. State your opinion about the dignity with which Osbourne faces death.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the pointlessness of using alcohol or drugs to avoid facing realities. Mention how people in the novel first started having boisterous parties with lots of alcohol consumption but later realized that it was not helping to solve the problem. Turn you essay to people who attempt to use mind altering substances as a way of dealing with problems of a much smaller scale than the extreme problem of ON THE BEACH.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 628 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample