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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 Kerans use to navigate his journey?

2. What does Kerans use to shield Hardman from the rain?

3. Where does Kerans feel a strong inner urge to venture?

4. How does Strangman react when Bodkin reveals his knowledge of the lagoon in Chapter 10?

5. What occurs when the dam explodes?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator depict Kerans as he ventures deeper into the jungle?

2. What does Kerans discover when he returns to his penthouse room in the hotel?

3. After the bomb fizzles out, how does Strangman react?

4. Why did Riggs turn around and come back when he suspected Strangman's presence?

5. How does Kerans react when he stumbles upon the remains of a small temple?

6. What intrigues Kerans about Strangman's crew and their loyalty?

7. What significance do the albino snakes and lizards hold in relation to Strangman's arrival?

8. What does Strangman's offer of a ship tour signify for Kerans, Beatrice, and Bodkin?

9. What is Riggs' justification for not arresting Strangman and his plan for the lagoons?

10. How does Kerans react when Sergeant Macready spots him and the dynamite?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does The Drowned World critique modern society's disregard for the environment? How does the book suggest we should respond to climate change?

Essay Topic 2

How does the breakdown of society in The Drowned World reflect the breakdown of human civilization? What does this say about human nature?

Essay Topic 3

How does Ballard use the character of Beatrice Dahl to explore the theme of femininity in The Drowned World? What role does femininity play in the book?

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This section contains 874 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample