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 do Coker and Bill find at Tynsham?

2. What does the young blind woman offer Bill at the end of Chapter Eight?

3. What happens when Bill drives too fast in the small town?

4. What does Bill begin to see in London proper?

5. What does Bill reiterate to Coker about triffids?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Bill's view of loneliness.

2. Explain what Coker wants of the new sighted captives.

3. Explain how Coker describes himself, and his abilities.

4. Describe how Bill finds Josella.

5. Describe what happens to Bill at the beginning of Chapter Eight, in terms of how he is kidnapped.

6. Explain Bill's argument that an immediate need for harvest is not necessary.

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

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

9. Explain how Susan comes to travel with Bill.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are several incidents of suicide in the novel. Choose from one of the following and describe, in detail, the circumstances behind the suicide, and your thoughts on the person's act. Were they smart to end their lives or was the act cowardly? What were their alternatives? What would you have done in their positions?

• The landlord of the tavern in Chapter One.

• The couple in Chapter Five.

• The young woman in Chapter Eight.

Essay Topic 2

The Day of The Triffids was written in 1951, after WWII. Do you think WWII had an influence on the themes in the novel? Why or why not? If so, what themes are present in the novel that lead you to believe so? If not, why do you think, then, that Wyndham references America as a saving country and the date the bomb dropped on Hiroshima (pg. 95)? Do you think there are threads of communism, socialism, the Cold War, and other WWII themes in the novel? How are those themes represented in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

There is a constant theme in the novel that even the best intentions can result in horrific results. Choose one example of this from the following list. Explain what happened in the situation, what the original intention was, why the result occurred, what could have been done to avoid the result, and whether or not the original intention was good, despite the results.

• Coker's kidnapping of sighted individuals to care for the blind.

• Miss Durrant's solid Christian foundation for her community.

• The University Tower's choice to turn away Coker and his followers.

• The Emergency Council's forced communities.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 976 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample