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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 first danger the group encounters is

2. The description of the tourists who visit the town implies

3. What does the narrator notice about the fountain in town?

4. The narrator has to ask for directions because

5. What question does the narrator recall asking her husband on their wedding day?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrator's relationship with other children.

2. What images or ideas related to identity do we get in the beginning of the novel?

3. What is significant about the fact that the others have locked the narrator out of the cabin?

4. Describe the experience the narrator has with her mother.

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

6. Why does the narrator take Joe outside in order to have sex with him?

7. How does the narrator see David?

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

9. Why is the narrator upset with her parents?

10. Why does the narrator hide from the searchers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator of Atwood's novel includes many details on the food she either serves her guests or consumes herself. Write an essay in which you discuss the significance of the mealtimes, food, or consumptive habits stressed in the novel. Consider Atwood's purpose in including these details.

Essay Topic 2

The three settings frequently mentioned in the novel--the city, the town, and the island--all carry different connotations. Considering the connotations of each, write an essay in which you explore the meaning of each setting and its significance to the narrator's development.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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