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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. Which character is dressed in a "resplendent" manner at the formal ball?

2. What does Adam Scriven try to do to Aubrey while the Captain is out walking around town one night?

3. What type of route does French Captain Christy-Palliere suggest that Aubrey and Maturin take to Spain?

4. During a private conference at the formal ball between Dr. Stephen Maturin and Diana Villiers, what information does Diana disclose to Maturin?

5. What type of makeshift facility does Captain Aubrey's new sea command accommodate?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the Polychrest is appropriately nicknamed "the Carpenter's Mistake"?

2. What Admiralty-related issues serve to further convince the Captain to leave England?

3. How does Mrs. Williams attempt to reserve Captain Aubrey for her daughter, Sophia?

4. What has French military leader and politician Napoleon Bonaparte ordered in relation to England and her countrymen?

5. Can the route to Spain suggested to Aubrey and Maturin by Christy-Palliere be considered safe or dangerous?

6. What do Aubrey and Maturin agree about in relation to the behavior of First Lieutenant Parker?

7. What events act as catalysts to drive Captain Aubrey away from England and toward France?

8. What types of discomfort does Maturin have to endure while walking to Spain with Aubrey?

9. How do Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin lend their support to England in its war against France?

10. How do Sophia and Diana defy their respective personality traits and demeanors in their pursuit of Captain Aubrey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Captain Jack Aubrey is chased by debt collectors throughout the book, but is never caught and never pays back his debtors. Write an essay describing the elements and circumstances that he uses to remain elusive throughout, and state whether or not his debt-collector-dodging tactics diminishes his position as role model and leader.

Essay Topic 2

A dramatic change takes place in Aubrey's lifestyle and environment upon his promotion to post captain and being given command of the H.M.S. Lively. Compare Aubrey's lifestyle and environment as a captain with that of post captain.

Essay Topic 3

The scuffle between Aubrey and a Adam Scriven exhibits the literary technique of irony. Detail how the roles that each man plays in generating events that catapult irony to the forefront.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 780 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample