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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 helps Captain Aubrey recruit sailors by drawing a poster promising rewards to those who sign up to crew the Polychrest?

2. Who do Captain Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin compare notes on, and secretly, mutually desire following the ball

3. What group of people are converted into crew members for the Polychrest?

4. What is the primary development in Chapter 4?

5. As the days go by, what game do Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin play often?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do Aubrey and Maturin react to one another's romantic interest in Diana?

3. What are some of the instances in which Aubrey openly tries to avoid debt collectors in Chapter 6?

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

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

6. What prevents Captain Aubrey from returning to the Admiralty in time for assignment to a prime sea command?

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

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

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

10. What taints the celebratory supper hosted by Tom Pullings family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A common thread throughout Post Captain is the emotional distress inflicted by Diana upon Doctor Maturin. Midway through the book, Matutrin states that he deplores the mistreatment of men, after having witnessed the abusive treatment of the Polychrest crew by Lieutenant Parker. Write an essay focusing on the irony in Maturin's statement concerning his abhorrence toward the mistreatment of men. Examine the validity of his statement in relation to his actions that repeatedly place him in the presence of Diana and result in emotional pain.

Essay Topic 2

Within a day's time, Captain Jack Aubrey transforms from the life of a wealthy gentleman of means to living the life of a penniless bum. Do you agree or disagree that a transformation of that type could take place within such an abbreviated period of time? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Diana Villiers is wooed by Aubrey and Maturin throughout Post Captain, but she is able to remain eludes both throughout the book. Describe how she is able to maintain her unwedded status, and state why either or neither man is likely to capture Diana's heart.

(see the answer keys)

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