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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 does Thelma say that Charles is, at the end of Chapter 5?

2. What does the truck driver intend on using the insurance money for?

3. Who do Stephen's parents encourage him to forget?

4. Who does Stephen talk to at the school about Kate?

5. What had Stephen's mother once insisted upon that made Stephen think he could control time?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Stephen say about writing and music and early childhood education at the subcommittee meeting?

2. Why does Stephen want to get out of the Prime Minister's car?

3. How are Stephen's parents affected by the loss of Kate?

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

5. What was Stephen's experience in Africa as a child?

6. Why does the young man at the subcommittee meeting believe that learning written languages at an early age is not a good idea?

7. What did Stephen become interested in when his mother had insisted that he take a nap in the middle of the day as a child?

8. Why does the handbook excerpt say that it is acceptable to bribe children for good behavior?

9. When Stephen rescues the truck driver, how does the man respond?

10. Why does the driver of the truck want Stephen to write down two notes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Prime Minister and Charles are two important characters that interact and experience a secret relationship together.

Part 1) What is their relationship? How do they co-exist and how do they interact? What is similar about them and what is different?

Part 2) What are some events that the Prime Minister had a direct influence upon? What are some events that Charles had a direct influence upon?

Part 3) Which character offers support to the group? Which one is stronger and why? What happens to each character?

Essay Topic 2

The Child In Time is a classic dystopian novel. What does that classification entail? Why does this novel fit into this category?

Essay Topic 3

One of the main themes in the book is ethical and social responsibility. List at least four examples where McEwan employs this specific theme. Is the battle between making ethical choices obvious or subtle? What characters are involved in this kind of battle? Do you think the right person or group won? Does good always triumph over evil in the case of The Child In Time ethics?

(see the answer keys)

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