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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 kind of appeal is the narrator making when he says "being as I want to tell the truth, I have to say that that is how it happen" (14)?
2. When Harry and Jean go out into the hallway together, he decides to "make hay while the match was shining" (26). What does the expression "make hay" mean?
3. When Nobby says that his motto is not to interfere in another man's business, what question is he responding to?
4. When Poor realizes that Harry is feeling down because of Jean, what does Poor suggest?
5. What is Gallows looking for when he comes into Battersby's apartment?
Short Essay Questions
1. What observations does the narrator make about hidden ambition before telling the story of how Gallows came to England?
2. When the novel opens, what is Battersby doing?
3. How does Harry end up holding onto Poor's pack of cigarettes for him?
4. Why does the narrator say that weather forecasters should be "diplomats" (4)?
5. What is ironic about the way Syl's West Indian origins were exposed to his landlord?
6. Which of Bat's friends takes photographs, and what is comical about how he does it?
7. Describe Battersby's apartment.
8. 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)?
9. What is the story of how Gallows came to live in London?
10. When Jean and Harry go out into the hallway to fix the fuse, what do they discuss?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Do some research on portrayals of West Indians in the literature and culture of Britain prior to the 1970's. Write an essay that places The Housing Lark within this context, making and defending a claim about whether or not The Housing Lark functions as an act of opposition to the dominant culture in this time and place. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
Essay Topic 2
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.
Essay Topic 3
Write an essay that analyzes what The Housing Lark conveys about the importance of belonging. Consider the situations of Gallows, Syl, Poor, and Charlie Victor. How does Syl's ethnic background make his "belonging" more tenuous, and what impacts does this have on him? What is it that isolates Gallows, and how does he work toward becoming more integrated with his friend group? How do Poor's and Charlie Victor's actions and beliefs isolate them, and what are the emotional consequences? Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
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This section contains 1,188 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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