View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is perfectly acceptable to do in the Authorized Child-Care Handbook?

2. Who appears to talk to Stephen at the subcommittee in a formal way?

3. What physical feature makes Stephen realize that the girl is not Kate at the school?

4. After attending what did Stephen move away from home for the rest of his life?

5. Where did Stephen enjoy going to school and playing outside as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Stephen purchase for Kate's birthday and what does it signify to him?

2. How does the headmaster respond when Stephen tells his story about Kate?

3. How does Stephen spend Kate's birthday?

4. When Stephen talks about his bicycle memory near the sea, how do his parents respond?

5. When Morely gives Stephen the book, what does it reveal about the government, subcommittees, and the actual research?

6. When the secretary insists that Stephen meet with the Prime Minister, how does he respond?

7. What does Stephen discover about Charles when Thelma gives him directions to where Charles is in the woods?

8. What is the unspoken rule that Stephen's father breaks when Stephen visits the family after meeting the Prime Minister?

9. Why did Thelma move with Charles to the countryside?

10. How does Stephen respond to the Prime Minister's secretary's request for a second meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe some of the settings for The Child In Time. What is the overall setting? Be sure to include geography, time period and any pertinent popular culture events. Why did McEwan choose to use these places in The Child In Time?

Essay Topic 2

McEwan uses more than one iteration on the theme of disappointment. Identify at least two characters who either embody or experience disappointment then cite an example to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the significance of the novel's title. What did the author mean by calling the book The Child In Time? Cite an example to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 917 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample