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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. How does the lifeless body reply to the captain when he calls over the side of the boat?

2. Why did Legatt jump in the water and begin swimming?

3. After focusing his eyes on the body at the end of the rope ladder, what does the captain notice?

4. Since what time does the mysterious man claim to have been in the water?

5. What does the captain need to learn now that he is on board the ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the captain's interior disposition during the precarious moments in which the ship faces its greatest peril?

2. How does the captain describe the skipper at the beginning of part two? How does he feel about the skipper?

3. Describe the farewell conversation/interaction between the captain and Legatt.

4. How do Legatt and the captain communicate with each other? Why?

5. How does the captain outwardly bear himself as the ship nears the island and almost certain doom?

6. According to the author, what is a reefed foresail and what purpose did it serve on the Sephora?

7. What does the captain find the night he is alone on deck? How does the author describe this?

8. What is the significance of the "punishment" of Leggatt?

9. What strangeness is dominant in the mind of the captain in the story's early part?

10. How does the captain feel after the skipper leaves the ship? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The murder Legatt is accused of committing happened under unusual circumstances. Did Legatt intend to murder the person? From the information the author gives, is Legatt truly guilty of murder? Give your reasons discussing why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

Part of what distinguishes the unnamed captain and Leggatt from the rest of the characters in the book is that they are eminently competent at what they are doing. Compose an essay which analyzes the contrasts between the captain and Leggatt with the rest of the characters, insofar as the former two demonstrate an excellence of ability and the latter do not. In what realms of activity are the two men superior to the others? What words and actions demonstrate this superiority? What is troublesome about the incompetence of the other characters, such as the Sephora's skipper or the unnamed ship's chief mate?

Essay Topic 3

In what way does the author demonstrate the mental strain that the captain is experiencing as a result of keeping Legatt and his secret? Give at least three examples in detail.

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