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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 damages Kelvin's face?

2. What does Snow do when Kelvin asks about Gibarian?

3. Who does Kelvin see in the hall on the way to his appointment with Snow?

4. What is the matter with Rheya's clothes?

5. What does Kelvin notice about Rheya's foot?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Kelvin surprised by his greeting when he approaches the research station?

2. Describe the research station as Kelvin first sees it.

3. What is Gibarian's reaction to the eerie sound of footsteps echoing through the station?

4. Who was the first human to die in Solaris's ocean?

5. Why does Kelvin take the Historia Solaris down from the bookshelf?

6. How does Kelvin periodically check to reassure himself that the research station's air circulatory system is working?

7. What do Rheya's death and Gibarian's death have in common?

8. Why does Kelvin blame himself for Rheya's death?

9. What is Snow's reaction when Kelvin admits that he has had his first visitor?

10. What reason does Kelvin give for his suggestion about the physical composition of the visitors?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kelvin has complex emotions about the original Rheya, and these emotions are further complicated by the appearance of a new, duplicate Rheya. Kelvin first destroys one Rheya in a panic, and then wants to save the next. What does Kelvin really want? Discuss Kelvin's ambivalent feelings toward Rheya.

1) How do Kelvin's feelings of guilt and love for the first Rheya affect his attitude to the duplicate Rheyas?

2) Is it possible for Kelvin to distinguish his feelings for the Rheya of Solaris from his feelings for and memories of the original Rheya?

3) On a fundamental level, does Kelvin want Rheya to be there, or does he not want her to be there?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss objective and subjective reality in the novel.

1) How do the characters determine what objective reality is? How do the characters know the nature of Solaris' ocean and the reality of the visitors?

2) Kelvin devises a test to make sure that he's not mad. How good is his test at determining the objective reality? Is it possible for Kelvin to be sure he's detecting an objective truth outside of the subjective experience of his mind?

3) Rheya is created from the subjective memories of Kelvin's mind, not an objective image of the original Rheya. How does this affect Rheya's personality and development?

Essay Topic 3

The ocean of Solaris is an active force in moving the story forward, and yet that ocean is incomprehensible to humans.

1) How does the author make Solaris' ocean a character in the novel while retaining its unknowability?

2) Are the reader's expectations of consciousness reflected in the way the reader interprets the story? Does the reader "read into" the ocean, and see sentience where there may be none?

(see the answer keys)

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