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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 do Coker and Bill find at Tynsham?

2. What saved Joyce's life?

3. Who does the little girl want Bill to check on?

4. Where does Bill go at the end of Chapter Twelve?

5. Where does Bill find Josella's district to be?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Bill first discovers the plague, its symptoms, and its result.

2. Why do you think the small groups located by helicopter in Chapter Twelve choose not to join other groups?

3. Explain some of the mishaps that befall Bill as he journey's to find Josella.

4. Explain how Susan comes to travel with Bill.

5. How does Coker view Miss Durrant, and what does he believe she will do with Tynsham?

6. Describe the three people Bill and Coker meet in Beaminster.

7. Explain why the young woman comes to Bill in his room in Chapter Eight, and his reaction.

8. Explain how Coker meets with Bill again.

9. What was Coker's response to Miss Durrant's chastising of his brutal methods at University Tower?

10. Describe how Bill finds Josella.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Light is used as a metaphor for hope, freedom, and security throughout the novel. In what ways does the author use this metaphor? How does he show what this symbol stands for? Choose one instance of the use of light as a symbol. Explain the situation. What are the characters doing? How is the symbol used? What is light symbolizing? Why did the author choose light as this symbol?

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?

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