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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 the captain try to do to their intruders?

2. How do the men view their current situation in Part 2?

3. What does the captain use to get rid of their intruders?

4. What begins to dart at the men?

5. How long has it been since the four men have slept?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is unknown or unclear about the men's situation?

2. What is the only thing that the correspondent can do in Part 5 while the shark is present?

3. How did the correspondent feel about the recalled story when he read it?

4. Near the end of Part 5, what does the correspondent want, and why?

5. What is the cook doing in Part 1?

6. What do the four men wonder in Part 4, and what do they think that the people onshore may believe?

7. What does the captain finally spot near the end of Part 2?

8. What does the correspondent think as he tries to swim to the captain after escaping the current?

9. What do the men see as they row for their lives in Part 1?

10. Who rows together, and how?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the relationship between the four men affect the story's plot?

Essay Topic 2

Investigate "The Open Boat" in terms of Naturalism. How does it adhere to and differ from the typical Naturalist story? What changes could be made to mark it more clearly as Naturalism? What changes could be made to prevent critics from classifying the story as Naturalism?

Essay Topic 3

How does the alternating point-of-view enhance and inhibit the story? How would the story be different if a different point of view were used?

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This section contains 565 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample