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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 does the captain believe about the body in the water?

2. Who does the stranger say has been with the skipper of the Sephora longest amongst the crew?

3. What does the captain go below for the night they see a strange ship approaching?

4. How was the murder committed?

5. How many people are on deck at the beginning of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is significant about Leggatt's rebuttal of the Sephora's skipper's account of the setting of the reefed foresail?

2. What does the stranger take advantage of in the captain's stateroom?

3. How does the stranger report his former companions treating him after the murder?

4. How does the captain describe the situation in which he first finds himself truly in command of the ship?

5. What is signified by the stranger's speech after he hears the plight of the newly-made captain?

6. Why does the mysterious stranger see himself being tried by a judge and jury something of an absurdity?

7. How does the chief mate react to the perilous situation of the ship, and what does the captain do to him?

8. What does the captain demonstrate about his own character through his "polite insistence" in showing the Sephora's captain the entirety of his ship?

9. What plan do Legatt and the captain devise for Legatt's escape? Does the author make the plan seem feasible?

10. Why does the captain's order for all hands to turn in without setting an anchor watch astonish the rest of the crew?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Though not a strictly metaphorical text, The Secret Sharer does, like most good literature, have a metaphorical aspect in that it conveys a deeper meaning than that which is literally presented. This relationship between the literal and the transcendent significations of the text is the relationship between vehicle and tenor. Analyzing the text of The Secret Sharer, write an essay which explicates how the transcendent meaning - the tenor - is conveyed through various imagery, circumstances, situations, and settings - the vehicle. How do the vehicles of meaning relate to the higher signification, i.e. by what means? How are the vehicle and tenor reciprocally related to one another?

Essay Topic 2

As a first person narrative, little information is given definitively on the deeper consciousnesses of those besides the narrator; thus, the reader must exegetically abstract the personality of others through their related actions and words, without access to their thoughts. Thus, construct a thoughtful essay analyzing the significance of the character of Leggatt by consideration of his actions and words throughout the story. What is his general disposition to his predicament? What particular actions demonstrate this disposition? How does he conduct himself as a fugitive? What personality traits does he display through his actions and words? What is his evident opinion of the incompetent? What is his overall significance to the story?

Essay Topic 3

The ship almost running aground is a major source of symbolism in Part 2. Why? Give examples from the text to support your answer.

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