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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. With which of the following does Chapter 1 of "Mirella and Vincent / 2020" begin?

2. With which of the following does Gaspery celebrate his entrance into work for the Time Institute?

3. At which of the following hotels does Gaspery find employment?

4. In which of the following does Edwin’s brother Niall live?

5. How old does Zoey turn on the day she summons Gaspery to her office?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Vincent believed to have died?

2. What is the irony of Edwin listing himself as a farmer as he emigrates from England to Canada?

3. How does Olive react to her driver’s question about being on book tour with a daughter at home?

4. What project is Olive’s husband assigned?

5. What reason does Roberts give for needing to fill in for Pike?

6. What reason does Olive note for her reticence with Aretta?

7. How does Edwin attempt to restore himself after his experience of dislocation?

8. What does Mirella note as a “downside to having retained a few friends from her time with” her husband (59)?

9. What does Mirella note was a difference between her and Vincent?

10. What secret does Mirella confide in the fortune teller?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To what genre other than science fiction might Sea of Tranquility be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

Section divisions, their titles, and chapter numbering / division schema are all components of paratext. That is, they are not part of the text but are associated with it closely and affect its meaning. What significance, if any, accrues to the chapter-numbering scheme at work in Sea of Tranquility? If there is significance, how does that significance manifest? If there is not, what in the novel supports the paratextual divisions that are in place?

Essay Topic 3

St. John Mandel lists several authors whose materials she uses. Others are mentioned in the text. Not all of her literary influences are named, however. To what other writers is St. John Mandel indebted? For what? How does the text show as much?

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This section contains 613 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample