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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. Between attacks, how is the sky frequently described?

2. Which adjective best describes the announcer’s voice during his afternoon broadcast?

3. During the third attack, what room does Nat realize the birds have broken into?

4. After battling birds in the kitchen, what does Nat ask his wife for?

5. While driving home from the farm, whose body does Mrs. Hocken spot, and request Nat drive carefully around?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. Why happens that leads Nat to realize the necessity of keeping a fire burning in the kitchen chimney at all times?

7. How does Nat use the bird corpses to reinforce his barricades, and how does he feel about this?

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

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

10. What is the droning sound that the Hockens hear during their dinner, and why does it stop?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

How does Nat's relationship with his wife and family differ both before and after the attack of the birds? Why is this so?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample