View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Alec Carrière lose his collection while en route home?

2. What unusual animal does Alec Carrière adopt as a pet while working in the Malay Archipelago?

3. What U.S. state do the Marburg sisters grow up in?

4. What does Rose's husband, Harry, do for a living?

5. Which of the following adjectives best describes the Marburg sisters when they were growing up?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Laughlin's relationship with Nora change at the end of the story "Ship Fever"?

2. What becomes of Carrière's scientific breakthrough, and how does this end result compare to his hopes?

3. How does Rose's life change in the wake of her father's death?

4. Who is Adam Rowley?

5. What devastating event occurs on Joel and Zaga's honeymoon?

6. What scientific breakthrough does Carrière make in the biologic world?

7. In the opening pages of "Soroche" what does the reader learn about Zaga's character?

8. What is the state of Zaga's life at the end of "Soroche"?

9. What notes does Laughlin make about disease and quarantine while he is working at Grosse Isle?

10. What unusual pet did Carrière keep for a short time while in the Malay Archipelago, and what happened to this unusual pet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A romantic triangle--Lauchlin, Susannah, Arthur Adam--plays a role in "Ship Fever" but it's in the background. If the fate of the Irish emigrants is in the foreground, what is the function of the small, quiet love story? What might it mean when Lauchlin, ill near the end of the tale, confuses Nora and Susannah?

Essay Topic 2

The 19th-century geneticist Gregor Mendel plays a crucial role in "The Behavior of the Hawkweeds". Why might Barrett have chosen to tell that story in the voice of a 20th-century woman only peripherally connected to Mendel and his work, rather than in the voice of Mendel himself, or of a scientist directly working with Mendel's theories? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

The Billip children in the story "Rare Bird" were highly educated and quite wealthy. How did this upbringing affect the children into their adulthood? Which of the children could symbolically be considered the titular "Rare Bird"? How can you tell? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 908 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample