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. What do Rheya and Kelvin spend their time talking about?

2. When does Snow say that the visitors first appeared?

3. How does Rheya try to kill herself?

4. Who is the second person Kelvin thinks of during the brainwave recording?

5. What does Snow say that Kelvin is doing, which Gibarian also did?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Rheya sign her suicide note?

2. Describe an extensor.

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

4. Does Snow believe Kelvin when Kelvin says he loves Rheya?

5. What does Snow say that Sartorius wants to do to the ocean?

6. Why does Rheya lie to Kelvin about what she did during the night?

7. Why doesn't Kelvin share his doubts about the upcoming experiment with Rheya?

8. What book does Kelvin read in the library?

9. How does Rheya describe being away from Kelvin?

10. What is Gravinsk's Compendium commonly used for?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The ocean of Solaris is a life form that is inexplicable both from a physics perspective and from a human consciousness perspective.

1) Can mankind ever understand anything that's truly different from itself, and does this preclude an understanding of Solaris?

2) Do any of the explanations advanced for Solaris' ocean define it outside of the context of humanity, or are they all reflections of human experience?

Essay Topic 2

Solaris is written in the first person point of view, from Kelvin's perspective. Discuss point of view in Solaris.

1) Kelvin enters the Solaris research in the middle of the action, when Gibarian is already dead. Why does the author choose to begin with Kelvin's arrival into an already ongoing situation?

2) The first person point of view restricts the reader's knowledge to Kelvin's thoughts and perception. Why does the author choose this point of view?

3) Why does the author focus on Kelvin as a character and Kelvin's interaction with his visitor, to the exclusion of the other visitors?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 631 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample