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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 type of birds were involved in the previous night’s attack?

2. When Nat returns home from burying the bodies, what news does his wife deliver?

3. At what time is the news broadcast in the evening?

4. Who suggests that the army should shoot the birds out of the sky?

5. According to the news, which of these is NOT a way the attacks affected London?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nat think has caused the birds’ strange behavior?

2. What theory does Mrs. Trigg present as the origins of the strange birds?

3. How is the weather described on the morning of the first bird attack?

4. What does Nat Hocken do for a living, and why does he enjoy it?

5. How does Nat fight the birds away from his children during the first attack?

6. Why does Nat rush to the bus stop, early, to meet Jill from school?

7. What supplies do the Hockens have at home, and what does Nat list as necessities to buy the next time he’s in town?

8. What does Nat find irritating about the radio announcer’s voice, and why?

9. How does Mrs. Hocken react when Nat starts boarding up the windows and doors?

10. Why is Nat filled with “a kind of excitement” upon returning home from the beach?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is unique about the past of the character Nat Hocken? How does his past affect him in the present? Does this set him apart from other characters in the story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

While "The Birds" is believed to have been allegorical to the Cold War, it is also believed that "The Birds" is a cautionary tale about the environment, or a warning about pushing nature too far. Which of these do you believe to be most accurate? Provide three examples from the text to support your claim. If you believe that "The Birds" is allegorical to all three options, provide one example speaking to each from the text.

Essay Topic 3

The story's setting in an isolated English coastal town is critical to the plot. Do you believe this is so? If so, how does the setting of the story ultimately affect the plot, especially in terms of isolation? If the setting is not critical to the plot, why not? Explain how setting the story elsewhere would not affect the plot.

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This section contains 888 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample