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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. What is a source of conflict for those responsible for building the ship?

2. Who announces that someone new will be directing the play?

3. What does Erasmus spot in the shadows when he gets lost in the city?

4. Which weapon is presented in Book One, Part Two, Chapter 14?

5. Why does Calley end up on the Ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe Erasmus as he is presented in the first half of the book?

2. How do readers discover how Sarah feels about Erasmus?

3. Why does Erasmus dislike Henry Adams?

4. What do we learn about Paris' wife in Book One, Part One?

5. How does the reader gain an inside perspective of the death of Paris' wife?

6. What does Erasmus see in town after he gets lost?

7. Is Erasmus allowed to propose to Sarah? What happens afterward?

8. Why was Paris imprisoned?

9. What types of memories does Paris frequently dwell on when he is on the ship?

10. Why is Kemp so motivated to convince Paris to go aboard the Ship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Unsworth uses a great deal of imagery in his book. What specific examples of imagery did Unsworth include in his book? How does that imagery add to the reader's experience of the story?

Essay Topic 2

How is Unsworth's story ultimately resolved? Do you think that the plot was adequately resolved? In your opinion, what could have been added (or removed) to make it more meaningful?

Essay Topic 3

Identify the climax of this story and the series of events leading up to it. How did characters respond to the climax? What did Unsworth include in his story to insure that the climax would be as powerful and meaningful as possible?

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This section contains 643 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample