View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Nana's legal first name?

2. When Jared asks Sebastian to start a band with him, he says he needs somebody who will do what he says, not someone with a real what?

3. What does Janice Whitcomb repeatedly cite as the reason that Mr. Whitcomb is never home?

4. For what purpose do the Whitcombs arrive at Sebastian and Nana's house the first time they come?

5. Sebastian says that when he was young, Nana would tell him that they lived inside what kind of object?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sebastian say he used to require from Nana in order to be able to fall asleep and what is its significance?

2. What does Sebastian notice about Nana's clothing just before her stroke?

3. What element of the pictures he finds of Sid Vicious does Sebastian find inspirational and encouraging?

4. How does Janice's invitation to stay for lunch serve as a major turning point in Sebastian's life?

5. Explain the Guiding Principles according to Buckminster Fuller's philosophy of life.

6. What comments of Sebastian's upon his first visit to Jared's house infuriate Jared and cause him to lash out at Sebastian?

7. What character traits of Jared's are displayed during the scene of Nana's stroke before the ambulance arrives?

8. What is the significance of Sebastian's first experience in a record store?

9. What is the first question Jared asks Sebastian after he is told that Sebastian may sound funny to others since he hardly ever leaves the dome?

10. What aspect of the distraction Jared decides to provide while Sebastian steals the bass is so cruel to Janice and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the novel's theme of acting as a beacon of light for others in order to help them find their paths in life.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the author of The House of Tomorrow succeeds in eliciting emotional responses from the reader in spite of Sebastian's inability to emote within his narration due to his stifled upbringing.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the meaning of the novel's final passage in which Sebastian declares, "I brace for the noise" (352). How does the passage display the themes present throughout the work?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,171 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample