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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In what month of the year does the Ceremony always take place in the community?
2. What reason does Claire give for her son's lack of distress upon her departure?
3. When Claire sees the male Nurturer out on his bicycle, how many months has it been since they have seen one another?
4. When Claire goes to the school to pick up the biology posters, what is the reason that there are no children in the school?
5. What is the process of birthing called in the community?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is Dimitri's explanation for why the community no longer has mammals?
2. When Claire declares that she hates her life, what aspects of her life does she say she despises?
3. How do the Nurturers respond to Claire's query asking if it would be alright if she visited the Nurturing Center again?
4. For what reason are the Nurturers considering keeping Claire's son at the center for another year before assigning him to a parental unit?
5. Upon finally seeing Marie on the boat, what questions arise in Claire's mind?
6. Recognizing that she cannot ask for Sophia outright at the Nurturing Center, what does Claire say to the receptionist when she arrives?
7. How is the event of Claire's first encounter with her son portrayed by the author?
8. What are the elements of Claire's plan to find Sophia, her acquaintance who has a job at the Nurturing Center where Claire's son is being held, and how does it work out?
9. What criterion does Claire give regarding how the Fish Hatchery had been chosen as her workplace and how does the criterion differ from others who work at the Fish Hatchery alongside her?
10. What sets the birth of Claire's Product apart from those of the other Birthmothers in her dormitory?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the significance of the novel's title and of the repeated references to sons throughout the narrative. What is the author's purpose in including the motif of male children, both in the title and throughout the narrative of the novel?
Essay Topic 2
Compare and contrast the two maternal characters within the narrative: Alys of the village and Claire's female parental unit of the community. What is the author's message regarding motherhood?
Essay Topic 3
Many instances of irony are included in the novel's narrative, including the fact that Claire's preservation of her own life while climbing the cliff is dependent upon her killing of many baby seagulls within a nearby nest. Find three other instances of irony within the novel and discuss each instance's significance.
This section contains 1,307 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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