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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. How does Nat know the birds have made it into the children’s bedroom during the first attack?

2. What does Mr. Trigg offer Nat for protection against the birds?

3. What does Mr. Trigg do for a living?

4. When Nat sees the gulls circling overhead, what do they look like they’re waiting for?

5. What do the seagulls camouflage while Nat is burying the bird bodies?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mr. Trigg help the situation when Jill arrives at the bus stop?

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

3. What does Mrs. Hocken think the army should do to battle the birds, and what is Nat’s reaction to his wife’s idea?

4. When does Nat typically watch the birds, and what does he notice about them when the story opens?

5. When do the birds first draw blood from Nat?

6. What is Nat’s mental state when he returns home from the bus stop?

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

8. How does Nat protect himself from the bird attack as he runs home from Jill’s bus stop?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What signs that something is amiss does Nat notice early on in the story? Why does he notice these things when no one else does? How does Nat's ability to notice these things ultimately affect the fate of his character?

Essay Topic 2

In your opinion, why does the story have an ambiguous ending? Is this merely to elicit a reaction from the readers, or does the author have a deeper purpose? Is there an entirely different reason? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Symbolism is an important element of "The Birds." Find three symbolic elements, incidents, or objects in the story. Explain how the elements are symbolic and why they are important.

(see the answer keys)

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