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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. When Claire shows up again at the Nurturing Center, what reason is she given for being turned away?

2. What is a behavior that Claire's son does NOT display during naptime at the Nurturing Center?

3. Though Claire had never volunteered at the Nurturing Center, where had she spent most of her required volunteer time as a child?

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

5. What name does she believe to be her son's after she overhears the male Nurturer using it?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Claire feel about the river that borders the community?

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

3. Upon finally seeing Marie on the boat, what questions arise in Claire's mind?

4. What is Claire's son's comfort item and what had hers been during her childhood?

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

6. 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?

7. When Claire declares that she hates her life, what aspects of her life does she say she despises?

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

9. What is Dimitri's explanation for why the community no longer has mammals?

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

The theme of power is one that comes up often within the novel's narrative, particularly in relation to the power wielded by the leaders of the community and their choice to control the actions of all community members. Other forms of power are present as well, such as the power Tall Andras assumes that he has over Claire upon her arrival within the village. Choose three instances when power is wielded by a particular character, organization, or group within the novel. Discuss how these instances help to shape the author's message regarding power.

Essay Topic 2

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 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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