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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. Who dampens the others' spirits in Part 3?

2. What does the captain remind the other men?

3. What do the men realize when the water changes from gray to emerald green?

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

5. Who rows with the correspondent?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it important for the oiler and correspondent to retain their strength at the end of Part 6?

2. What does the correspondent think about nature in Part 7?

3. Why do the men's hopes not sink at the beginning of Part 4?

4. Throughout their adventure, how does the relationship between the four men change, and why?

5. What is the result of the four men going without sleep for two days and nights?

6. In Part 4, where does the captain instruct the others to take the boat, and why?

7. What happens after the sail is constructed, and how do the four men feel about it?

8. What taunts the four men, and why?

9. What role do the seagulls play in Part 2?

10. What are the four men doing in Part 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the story that the correspondent recalls about the Legionnaire who died in Algiers? How does this contribute to the book as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

What role does nature play in this book? How do the four men view nature? In what ways can Nature be seen as a character in "The Open Boat"?

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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