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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 fishing trip is cut short when

2. The narrator finally tells Anna

3. The narrator thinks she cannot communicate with Joe because

4. As she travels through the town, the narrator feels

5. The narrator claims to rehearse

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrator's relationship with her traveling companions.

2. Why is the narrator upset with her parents?

3. Why does Joe's marriage proposal remind the narrator of her first wedding day?

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

5. What were the narrator's experiences with religion as a child?

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

7. How is the narrator changing as she remembers her past?

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

9. Describe the character of Paul.

10. Why does the narrator destroy David's film?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the Canadian wilderness in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing. How does the wilderness represent the narrator's a) past, b) struggles or c) both. Create an argument in which you support points a, b, or c.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Henri Cartier-Bresson said, "To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy." Consider the connotations of the words "capture" and "mastering" in Cartier-Bresson's quote and compare his statement to David and the narrator's contrasting views on David's film, Random Samples.

(see the answer keys)

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