View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many ships have gone missing where the Starbuck is last reported?

2. What are the two most important things about the sub's condition that Dirk reports to Boland?

3. Who is the Chief Director of the Naval Underwater and Marine Agency?

4. How does Dirk carry Summer to the hotel?

5. What does George Papaaloa ask Dirk about progress on that that Dirk had recently been diving to find?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is LT March so resistant to the idea of entering the submarine?

2. Dirk sees no need to show up on time to his "date" with ADM Hunter (to report for duty). How is this reflective of both Dirk's personality and his attitude towards ADM Hunter?

3. What are some ways the Pacific Vortex is different from the Bermuda Triangle and other legendary danger areas?

4. How does Cussler describe ADM Sandecker at the beginning of Chapter that makes him seem like a likely person to work with Dirk Pitt?

5. Capt. Cinana quotes a Naval saying: "Those that lie deep in the Atlantic Sea Are recalled by shrines, wreathes and poetry, But those who lie in Pacific Sea Lie forgotten for all eternity." What does this mean?

6. What two things does the receptionist at ADM Hunter's office assume of Dirk Pitt when he arrives in his bathing suit?

7. Why is it important for ADM Hunter's men to get to the accident site when the gray van runs off the road before the Honolulu police?

8. Cussler gives a good description of rip tides after Dirk has swum out beyond the breakers at Kaena Point. Describe them, why they are dangerous and explain how best to swim through them if caught in one.

9. ADM Hunter refers to CDR Dupree as having a reputation for a computer-like mind. Going back to the prologue, what are some statements that support this view of Hunter's? (Dupree refers to "Annapolis." What does he mean by that?)

10. What are the different mysteries or questions that ADM Hunter enumerates as he reads the log?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examined carefully, the association between Dirk's reason for visiting to the Polynesian history museum and George Papaaloa's story of Kanoli is slightly obscure except as a plot mechanism. There is nothing Papaaloa relates in the story of Kanoli to suggest that it is related to the Pacific Vortex. The relevance of this revelation seems somewhat abstract. This is especially true since the Vortex has only been "operational" for about 40 years. Rewrite this episode using the essence of the legend of Kanoli as it stands but add elements that allow the two stories to appear related, making the transition from one to the other more smoothly.

Essay Topic 2

Dirk refers to the salvage operations on the Thresher, the Bluefin, the Scorpion, and the submarine F-4. What are these boats or ships and what happened to them? How are they relevant to the sinking (and raising) of the Starbuck?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the concept the title embodies. Things to consider in your response: What is the REAL "pacific vortex"? How does it compare to the Pacific Vortex that Cussler describes? How does it compare to the Bermuda Triangle? Is "vortex" a good name for or description of the activities at Delphi's seamount? In other words, have the sailors in the book come up with an appropriate name? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,344 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample