Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How are ladybugs shipped to gardeners?
2. When Dillard moves from describing details of creation to trying to understand more about creation what is she doing?
3. How does Dillard think of Tinker Creek in the first chapter?
4. Why does the author think nature experiments with insects' shape, form and "niche?"
5. One branch of Jewish philosophy believes that part of the responsibility of humans is to do what?
Short Essay Questions
1. Dillard is somewhat obsessed with how creation reproduces itself and the excess with which it does so. How might this "obsession" relate to Dillard's own life or self?
2. How does Dillard relate the season, spring, to language?
3. Dillard spends the entire chapter dealing with the passing of a hurricane. How does the theme of "floods" relate to other parts of the book?
4. How does Dillard feel about "shadows?" What does she write to show those feelings?
5. What does Dillard believe about flowing water?
6. What is the story that Dillard relates about the Polyphemus moth and how does it show a possible origin of her attitude towards creatures?
7. What is the problem with the starlings in Chapter 3? How does the town of Radford, Virginia deal with the starlings? Were they successful?
8. What does Dillard conclude when she attempts to "view" creation from the standpoint of God?
9. How does Dillard relate the plankton to the Eskimo learning about Christianity and to herself?
10. Up to now Dillard has tried to just "notice" creation. In Chapter 8, Section 2, her focus changes. How does her focus change and what might it symbolize?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In the final chapter of the book, the reader can see that in attempting to understand the natural world, the author is attempting to understand its creator. How does Dillard blend her observations of the natural world with what becomes of her beliefs in a creator? Use some of her writing to illustrate your ideas.
Essay Topic 2
One day while hiking, Dillard comes upon a coot, a water bird, notorious for its shyness. Dillard spends a great deal of space writing about her encounter with the coot. Describe the encounter and what Dillard thinks she learned from it.
Essay Topic 3
Dillard often uses stories from the Eskimo culture to help her pull meaning from her observations. Discuss two of the stories Dillard has told from the Eskimo culture and their relevance to some knowledge she was trying to work through.
|
This section contains 1,394 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
