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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. When Battersby is daydreaming in the novel's opening, what kind of woman does he wish for?

2. What does Harry plan to do to make "some big money" (15)?

3. What does Poor do for a living?

4. Why does Gallows go to the market one Saturday afternoon?

5. What does Battersby mean when he says "You is one of we" (9)?

Short Essay Questions

1. To whom does Battersby threaten to complain about his housing situation, and why does he decide against making a complaint?

2. Describe the talent of Battersby's that the narrator talks about on pages 6 and 7.

3. When Jean and Harry go out into the hallway to fix the fuse, what do they discuss?

4. Describe the woman that Gallows depended on for food and a place to live when he first came to London.

5. How did Gallows come to meet Battersby and his friends?

6. What does the narrator say to his audience about his decision not to offer more details about Poor's appearance and origins?

7. Why does the narrator say that weather forecasters should be "diplomats" (4)?

8. How does Harry end up holding onto Poor's pack of cigarettes for him?

9. What observations does the narrator make about hidden ambition before telling the story of how Gallows came to England?

10. Other than the money, what do the things that Battersby imagines the genie bringing him all have in common with one another, and what does this demonstrate about Battersby himself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explicates and analyzes the novel's implicit comparison of white, Western readers of The Housing Lark with the tourists on the river Thames at Hamdon Court. How does the novel make this comparison? Why does it make this comparison? Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that affirms, refutes, or qualifies the following statement: "Harry Banjo's agent is, in effect, the magical genie that Bat has been waiting for throughout The Housing Lark." Be sure that, in taking a position on this idea, your essay considers the implications that this has for the theme of the novel. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Choose a passage of two to eight pages that strikes you as particularly comic. Explicate the use of comic techniques within this passage. Identify the types of comedy within the scene and then explain the specific techniques used to create this humor. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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