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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 Nor say she might be able to do?

2. What do the spriggans and Fallow tell September about her hair?

3. What happens to a lock of September's hair?

4. Where does September maneuver Saturday?

5. Whose nature does Dr. Fallow discuss?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does September dream as she falls asleep?

2. What does the Panther agree to do for September?

3. Describe the conversation between September and the shark.

4. Who meets Gleam and September inside the castle and what does September say to her?

5. What does Nor tell September about everyone in the town and how September is like them?

6. What does Dr. Fallow tell September about the foods she's been eating, and how does September react?

7. Who arrives to greet the visitors to Autumn and what is special about them?

8. How can September help Ell?

9. Where does September send Gleam and what does September do in the meantime?

10. Who does September meet when her raft collides with a thick net of water plants and where do they go?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many novels, and perhaps a majority, of novels end on a happy note. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think many (most?) people want what they perceive as a happy or good ending to a novel? Explain your opinion. Do you? Why or why not?

2. What are three reasons to read fiction? Discuss each one in light of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland and whether or not it fulfills all three, two or one of the reasons you mention. Give examples as to why The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is or is not successful in fulfilling the reasons you discuss.

3. Do you think reading solely for entertainment is as good a reason to read as any other? Why or why not? Can any work of fiction or non-fiction, no matter how poorly written, enlighten, teach, stimulate thought? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What do you think are the characteristics of a successful novel?

2. Analyze and discuss The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland based upon the criteria you decide upon in #1 and judge if The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is a successful novel.

3. Do you think the criteria for a successful novel should be different if it is written for adults versus young adults? Why or why not? Would most adults consider The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland a successful novel? What about young teens?

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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