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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. With which of the following does the novel begin?

2. To which of the following does Evie compare herself?

3. What fire engine does Rafi’s father work on?

4. From which of the following does Rafi steal?

5. What book do Bart and Evie read together?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Bart a good study partner for Evie while they are in college together?

2. Why does Tamatoa not sleep at night?

3. What is described as the major perk of the mayoral office on Makatea?

4. Why is Didier selected to be mayor?

5. In the novel, what is the primary importance of phosphates?

6. Why does Rafi dislike reading the encyclopedias his father gave him?

7. What game does Rafi play at the Taylor library?

8. What is the irony of phosphate mining on Makatea?

9. How does Evie camouflage herself while in high school?

10. From what do the phosphate deposits on Makatea derive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The lengths of sections influence reading. What pattern of section-length is present in the novel, if any? What effect does the length of chapters have on the reading? How is the effect achieved?

Essay Topic 2

A lack of formal sectional division in the novel obliges a fairly arbitrary breakdown of the text for purposes of study and discussion. How might the novel be sectioned off other than it currently is? Why might those divisions be appropriate, based on the text and its contexts of composition and reception?

Essay Topic 3

What character is the protagonist of Playground? How does the novel support such an assertion?

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