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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 the elderly man Bill sees in the beginning of Chapter Four carry?

2. What brings Bill into the alley where he finds a blind man and his captive?

3. What does the main character admit the triffids did for him?

4. What is Josella's opinion of the future?

5. What book does Josella admit she wrote?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the different aspects of society Bill and Josella say goodbye to in Chapter Five.

2. Explain why Bill feels a sense of relief at his new situation?

3. What surprises Josella about her actions when she was captive?

4. Describe the walking style of a triffid.

5. Describe why Bill finds it difficult at first to break the law, even for food.

6. Describe the events of the night of May 7th, in terms of what the narrator notes is said to have occurred, according to history books.

7. What clues does the narrator have that there is something wrong when he wakes in the hospital?

8. Explain the difference between Josella's view of triffids and Bill's. Why are they do drastically different?

9. Following the witness of a couple committing suicide, Bill admits to himself that he must 'grow a hide'. Explain his meaning.

10. Describe the argument between the sighted leader of the blind at the gates of University Tower and the sighted leaders of the sighted colony at the university.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, there is a consistent struggle between doing what is morally right and doing what is necessary for survival. Choose one representation of this struggle from the following list and explain it in detail. What is the conflict? Why is there a conflict? How is one path more morally right than the other? Can the moral path not lead to survival in some way and the survival path not be made moralistically right? Why or why not? Be sure to be specific in relating the struggle back to the novel.

• Married men at University Tower being forced to mate and care for two blind women, as well.

• The forced care of ten blind persons by one sighted person as dictated by the Emergency Council.

• The choice of saving the blind at Tynsham even at the expense of the sighted.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, only one child, Susan, is really examined in depth. Her reactions to the horrors that surround her seem muted in that she seems to be curious, but not afraid. Do you think this is representative of a child after a crisis? Why or why not? Do you think her curiosity outweighs her fear? Why is this true for children more than adults? What do you think the result would have been had Bill not located Susan? What do you think Susan's reactions say about the resiliency of children?

Essay Topic 3

In the novel, Bill blames satellites for the end of society. He suggests that the satellites were weapons and that one held radiation that would burn out the eye. Examine this concept from the standpoint of the book's writing. What was the atmosphere, as explained by Bill in the novel, like at the time? What was happening in the world? What was the Cold War? Why were people so afraid of satellites? Why would Bill blame them for the end of the civilized world? Do you think such a concept makes sense? Why or why not? What does this say about the technological advancements at the time?

(see the answer keys)

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