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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 many journeys does Nat make between the farm and his home, loading up his car with supplies?

2. What is Nat doing as the story comes to a close?

3. During the third attack, what does Nat find smoldering in the kitchen fire?

4. After the second attack, what does Nat realize is controlling the birds’ behavior?

5. Whose body is found next to the Triggs’ telephone?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nat decide to take his family with him to the Trigg farm in search of supplies?

2. Who is Jim, and how was he killed?

3. How does the radio music change during the attacks, and what does this signify?

4. Why doesn’t Nat feel bad about stealing supplies from the Trigg farm, and how much does he gather?

5. Why does silence fill the Hocken house after the third attack, and what does this mean?

6. Why does Nat drive through the second gate to his home after leaving the Trigg farm?

7. During the final attack, what does Nat wonder about the birds’ mindset?

8. When Nat leaves the house for the first time to gather supplies, what does he notice about the birds?

9. Why does Nat feel a sense of admiration for the birds?

10. How have the farm animals, on both the Hocken and Trigg properties, been affected by the attacks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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.

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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