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. Where was Ka born and raised?

2. How did Ka get in touch with Gabrielle Fonteneau, to sell her the sculpture?

3. How does Gabrielle Fonteneau react when Ka tells her that she does not have the sculpture?

4. Where does Eric work at night?

5. Where does Nadine read her parents’ letter every day?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the ending of "Water Child" chapter similar to themes in The Book of the Dead?

2. What emergency is Nadine called in to resolve in Ms. Hinds’ room?

3. What causes Nadine to call her parents?

4. Whose perspective is the "The Book of Miracles" chapter written from, and when is it set?

5. How does Ka’s mother answer when Ka asks her how she can love him?

6. What does Eric’s wife do while he is at work?

7. What is the sculpture Ka is selling to Gabrielle Fontaneau?

8. What do Eric and his wife do when they go out on the weekend?

9. What political event captivates Eric’s wife during her first week in New York?

10. In how many ways does the number seven resonate for Eric at the start of the second chapter, titled “Seven”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate your own reading of The Dew Breaker—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

When is The Dew Breaker most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?

Essay Topic 3

The Dew Breaker does not end in confrontation or justice—Does the book propose terms by which justice might be accomplished? Are there characters in the book who accomplish justice in their way? What would it take for these characters to get justice? What would it take for you, as the reader, to feel the book led to some kind of closure?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 971 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample