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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. Why don't the Aboriginals understand what Captain Fremantle is saying?

2. What are Bidgup and Meedo worried about?

3. What strange occurrence shatters the peace of the camp?

4. What animal does Arthur Carberry bring to Australia with him?

5. What is the Mardudjara?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think the white people prevent the Aborigines from carrying out their traditional rituals and dances?

2. How do Aborigine people hunt and kill their food?

3. How do the white people at the depot react to the birth of the mixed race child?

4. Did anyone have a happy ending in this story?

5. Should Golda have been punished for killing the white men's steer? Was the way he was punished right?

6. How does Moore River attempt to make the children culturally 'white' and forget their Aboriginal identity?

7. Is it fair that Bidgup and Meedo are sent to a penal colony?

8. Who is to blame for the incident between the white workers who dug the sacred land, and the Mardu?

9. Describe the grounds of Moore River.

10. Describe how Molly and the girls escape Moore River.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is there a 'bad guy' in this story? Who acts badly and why? Do people's motivations sometimes excuse their actions?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss freedom in this story. How is it represented and what does the author say about it? How important is freedom? Who is free and who is not?

Essay Topic 3

The film version of this book is described as a story that follows the 'triumph of the human spirit.' How well does this apply to the book and the characters in it? Explain your answer using examples from the book, not the film.

(see the answer keys)

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