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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. How does the narrator describe Kerans in the jungle?

2. What irritates Strangman during the diving expedition?

3. Where does Kerans find Beatrice when he enters the depot ship?

4. What item does Kerans retrieve from the intact safe in Chapter 12?

5. How does Strangman react to Kerans's observation about the artifacts?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is Strangman doing during the two weeks Kerans watches him?

4. How does the wrecked penthouse suite influence Kerans' perspective and decision-making?

5. What happens to the lagoon and what does the group see after?

6. How does Kerans navigate his journey south and what challenges does he face?

7. Who lunges at Kerans with a blade and why?

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

9. What does Strangman give Beatrice?

10. What does Kerans see in the old planetarium?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the relationship between Kerans and Beatrice and how it changes over the course of the novel. Why do you think this is?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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