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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 instrument does Sullivan play?

2. Who does Thurso decide to have flogged?

3. Why does Erasmus get lost in town after rehearsing for the play?

4. Why does Blair go to a bar?

5. Who admits his love for Sarah?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Erasmus dislike Henry Adams?

2. What good results from the slaves going aboard the ship, according to the narrator in Book One, Part Four?

3. What significance does the mantra "when we are married" have in Book One, Part Four?

4. How does Erasmus' role in the play reflect aspects of himself in real life?

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

6. Describe Paris' last night on shore before boarding the Ship.

7. What does Erasmus compare to cattle in Book One, Part Four?

8. Describe the setting for the Prologue.

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

10. Why is the title of the play rehearsed on the Wolpert property appropriate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Erasmus and Paris. How are their lives different? How are the characters the same?

Essay Topic 2

How would you describe the development of the relationship between Erasmus and Sarah? Why do you think that Sarah becomes attached to Erasmus? What benefits do both characters derive from the relationship?

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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