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 realization dawns on Kerans when the helicopter turns?

2. What does Bodkin congratulate Kerans on?

3. What does Beatrice point out to Kerans in Chapter 7?

4. What happens to the helicopter in the pursuit of Hardman?

5. What is described as the only true meeting ground for the remaining trio in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Lieutenant Hardman?

2. Why do the freebooters inspect the buildings in the lagoon?

3. What is the significance of Kerans' indifference towards the drowned cities they visit?

4. Who suddenly disappears and why?

5. What scientific idea does Bodkin propose?

6. Why is Dr. Alan Bodkin more interested in the flooded cities than Kerans?

7. How is the earth portrayed differently in this book?

8. What does Kerans deduce about the men using alligators as "watchdogs"?

9. Which character is shot and injured by Hardman and how did it happen?

10. How does Kerans perceive the changing environment and the impending submergence of the city?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Ballard use the character of Strangman to explore the theme of human violence in The Drowned World? What is the relationship between violence and survival in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the role of technology in the drowned world and its juxtaposition with the primitive instincts and behaviors that emerge in the characters.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the psychological effects of the extreme environmental changes on the characters. How does the heat and the flooded world affect their mental health?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 783 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample