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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 Snow suggest is the reason Rheya is beautiful?

2. What does Kelvin awake to hear in the middle of the night?

3. What does Rheya give Kelvin before he goes to sleep after he asks what she's doing in the night?

4. What does Snow tell Kelvin when Kelvin regains consciousness after he finds Rheya missing?

5. When does Rheya say was the only time she lied to him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Sartorius' speech to Kelvin before the experiment.

2. What is Snow's response to Sartorius' new experiment?

3. How does Rheya sign her suicide note?

4. What does Rheya want from Kelvin, after she listens to the tape recorder?

5. What can't Kelvin find, when he wakes in the morning?

6. What metaphor does Kelvin use to describe trying to understand Solaris?

7. Why does Kelvin say he doesn't want Rheya to overhear his conversation?

8. How does Kelvin imagine his return to Earth?

9. Describe an extensor.

10. Why does Kelvin go to the library?

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

Analyze the genre of the novel Solaris.

1) How does Solaris utilize the science fiction genre? Why does the author choose a space setting, and how does he utilize science and technology to communicate his themes and ideas?

2) In what ways is Solaris a mystery or psychological thriller? What elements of the mystery/thriller genre does the author use?

3) What elements of the horror/ghost story genre does Solaris use? Is the story of Solaris a horrifying one?

Essay Topic 3

One of the main dreams of Solarists is contact with the ocean, and so one of the major thematic elements in Solaris is communication.

1) What are the obstacles to communication in Solaris, both between the ocean and the scientists and between the human characters? What is the effect of a lack of communication?

2) Does the ocean attempt to communicate with the scientists?

3) Is communication possible with the ocean?

(see the answer keys)

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