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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 occasion had prompted the community to perform the Ceremony of Loss a few years before the events of the narrative?

2. What happens when Claire visits the Nurturing Center for the last time and reaches for her son as he is playing on the floor?

3. When Claire sees the male Nurturer on his bicycle, what does she see that gives her hope regarding his continued involvement with her son?

4. When a Newchild is showing signs of being ineligible for assignment, it is called a failure to do what?

5. For what reason does Claire decide not to try to take her son out of the Nurturing Center during her second visit?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Claire so terrified when she is first told that she has been decertified as a Vessel?

2. How do the Nurturers respond to Claire's query asking if it would be alright if she visited the Nurturing Center again?

3. Recognizing that she cannot ask for Sophia outright at the Nurturing Center, what does Claire say to the receptionist when she arrives?

4. What does Claire realize during breakfast one day when she sees the other Fish Hatchery workers cleaning up their tables and getting ready to begin work?

5. What does one of the Vessels report it had felt like to cease taking the pills when she had been assigned the role of Birthmother?

6. From what building does Claire avert her eyes on her walk from the Birthmother Dormitory to the Fish Hatchery, and why?

7. What reason does the narrator give for all of the Fish Hatchery workers being fond of the director, Dimitri?

8. 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?

9. What is the consequence of Claire's Task being different from those of the other Birthmothers?

10. How does Claire feel about her work at the Fish Hatchery?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes in Western culture, volunteerism is looked at in terms of only helping those in need, but Lois Lowry's novel Son seems to put forth the proposition that service to others can also be a means to the provider's own personal happiness. Find examples within the novel Son that prove this conclusion regarding the author's message about service to others and discuss the message's overall effect on the reader.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interplay between the climax of the novel Son and its denouement. How does Lois Lowry employ each plot stage and how does their juxtaposition help her get across the intended messages in her novel?

Essay Topic 3

Narrative events within Lois Lowry's novel Son refer to the subject of trust at many different points. Trace these mentions, explain each instance's circumstances, and discuss the overall message the author sends about the subject of trust.

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This section contains 1,456 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample