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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. The narrator reveals that she has not visited her parents here because

2. The others decide they want to

3. The narrator and her companions are traveling in

4. The narrator decides her childhood was a good one because

5. The narrator decides it would be easy for a person who is hiding to

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrator's flashback about the birth of her child.

2. Why does the narrator decide to return to the city?

3. In what way is Anna like "a burned leech?"

4. Why is the narrator upset with her parents?

5. Why does the narrator refuse to believe David and Anna's story about her father?

6. What is suggested by Anna's statements about her make-up?

7. What does the narrator decide about marriage at the end of the chapter?

8. Describe the narrator's initial beliefs about Americans.

9. Why does the narrator believe there are rules for what she can and cannot do on the island?

10. Both of the childhood rhymes mentioned in the chapter have to do with what subject? Why are they important?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator in Atwood's novel remains nameless throughout. Consider the idea that, "Some people think that if they change the names of things, the things themselves will have changed, too." How does the narrator's namelessness contribute to any of Atwood's messages in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the ideas of power and powerlessness in the novel. What might Atwood be communicating about the actions and responsibilities of the powerful? What might she suggest about the powerless? Write an essay in which you explore Atwood's message about the powerful, the powerless, or both.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the following quote by Rainer Maria Rilke: "Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connection with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle." Write an essay in which you defend, refute, or qualify Rilke's statement, using Atwood's novel as the basis for your argument.

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