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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 the narrator fear would crush him into the earth in Chapter 8?

2. According to MacDonald where do literary ghosts go to visit?

3. What does MacDonald point out as no bigger than the portal which brought the bus to Heaven?

4. What does Pam say she'd be perfectly happy if she had?

5. What does the sunrise shoot dead?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to the narrator when the morning arrives?

2. What do the two ghosts do when Sarah asks for forgiveness?

3. What does the Tragedian do that makes the dwarf get smaller? What does Sarah say about this?

4. How did Pam neglect her husband and daughter in her life?

5. What does Sarah do when the dwarf disappears?

6. What does the Female Ghost say about the flowers she put on Robert's desk?

7. How does MacDonald explain the size of Hell to the narrator?

8. What happens when the ghost with the lizard allows the Bright Person to kill the lizard?

9. Where does the Bright Person tell Pam her son Michael is? Why can't she see him now?

10. What does the narrator see when things suddenly change in Chapter 14? What do the figures on the table do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

From what point of view is the novel written? In what tense is it written? Define the terms which apply to these forms as discussed in class. In what ways does a narrative written in this point of view allow the reader greater understanding of the characters?

Essay Topic 2

What is "Speculative Fiction?" How is The Great Divorce a part of this genre? Who coined the phrase and how is Speculative Fiction differentiated from Science Fiction or Fantasy?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the finals scenes the narrator encounters in The Great Divorce. What are the meanings of the symbols here? What does the table represent? The chess figures? How does this relate to the themes of the novel?

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