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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. Why is the person imprisoned in the lobster cage?

2. Who overthrew the missing person?

3. How do Ell and September pay for the fare?

4. What is cut from September?

5. Where does September tell Ell she is going?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is September feeling after leaving the Briary and where does she find Ell?

2. Who is on the shores of the Barleybroom River and what are they waiting to do?

3. What does Saturday suggest as a mode of rapid transportation?

4. Who is in the lobster cage; why is he in the cage and what can he do?

5. Where does the red carpet lead September and Ell and what do they watch?

6. How does Queen Mallow construct the city of Pandemonium?

7. Describe the conversation between Lye and September.

8. Who is Calpurnia Farthing and whom has she rescued?

9. What does Ell tell September about Pandemonium and why doesn't he know much?

10. Why does Betsy allow September to enter but not her companions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Characters are an important part of what makes The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Thoroughly discuss and analyze September. What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? How does she contribute to the plot? Is she a sympathetic character? Is she ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

2. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of The Marquess. What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? How does she contribute to the plot? Is she a sympathetic character? Is she ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

3. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Ell. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

The appearance of Death in Chapter 12 is a particularly intriguing aspect of the book, in that traditionally, mythologically and spiritually, Death is perceived and/or presented as much more threatening than its portrayal here. The explanation Death offers for this is quite thought provoking, and may well trigger, in the reader, an imagining of how death might look to him/her self and to others. In any case, the concept of Death, as defined here, seems to be related to a more broadly based experience than simply the end of physical life. In many spiritual philosophies and practices, including (for example) tarot cards, death is viewed as a symbolic representation of transformation, of moving from one phase of existence into another. As such, death is often encountered, albeit in a variety of forms, on The Hero's Journey, a narrative that, in a very fundamental way, is all about transformation, about leaving an old world and old ways behind. In short, September's encounter with Death here is not about an actual physical death, but a death of a younger, more naïve, less courageous version of herself.

1. Discuss two events in a person's life that could be considered a type of death that is not physical death. Compare those to one situation in September's life. Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

2. Discuss the transformation which occurs in September as she moves through her journey in Fairyland. Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

3. Why do you think death might be viewed symbolically as a transformation in an individual's life or person? Use examples from your life and the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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