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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 is de Nobriga's nickname?

2. What do Harry and Battersby's sister have a playful argument about when they meet?

3. What do Battersby and Harry go out to get when Battersby's friends gather at his apartment?

4. What do Harry and Jean agree that Bat and his friends all lack?

5. What is the name of the song that Harry wrote himself?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is ironic about the story of Fitz's marriage?

3. According to the narrator, what are Alfy's, Nobby's, and Syl's real thoughts about buying the house?

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

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

6. What is ironic about the difference between the food Battersby imagines on page 2 and the food he genuinely likes?

7. What did Battersby often listen to on his radio, and why did he stop?

8. Describe Matilda's conflicting thoughts about Jean's being a sex worker.

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

10. What does Battersby mean when he tells Alfonso that the weather forecaster is talking about "depression and high pressure" and that these are "things the boys know about" (4)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that analyzes the layered meaning of the book's title. How does the title point toward the idea of a quixotic quest? How does it create expectations of humor? How does it exemplify the way that humor is used to deflect from pain throughout the novel? Why "lark" instead of "folly" or "plan" or "quest"? Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you analyze the impact that Jean and Harry have on the other characters. Rather than performing a cursory analysis of how Jean and Harry impact every character in the book, structure your essay around how Harry and Jean model initiative, the right to personal freedoms, and the importance of economic independence. Show how these values are manifested in Harry's and Jean's words and behavior and demonstrate how this modeling impacts the other character in the book. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

We have already discussed how the narrator's attitudes toward gender do and do not overlap with those of the characters. But what about the author's perspective? Write an essay that takes and defends a position on the degree to which Sam Selvon's perspective on gender overlaps with that of the narrator of The Housing Lark. You may choose to use biographical information on Selvon as part of your defense of your position, but the majority of your evidence should be drawn from the text of The Housing Lark itself. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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