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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 Bat shoos the men out of his apartment so that he and Syl can be alone with Pat, what does Gallows stay behind for?
2. When Matilda asks Bat why he called the name "Jeanie" while they were having sex, what literary technique is employed (52)?
3. When, on page 83, the narrator says that "Trinidadians does thirst after fete as pants the hart for crystal streams," what is the Trinidadians' love for "fete" being compared to?
4. After they ask for it back, where does Bat tell the men the money they gave him is, right now?
5. What does the narrator compare the mens' appetites for women to?
Short Essay Questions
1. What about the timing of the mens' plan to buy a house makes the narrator think they were never serious to begin with?
2. What details does the narrator give that demonstrate how eager people are to go on the excursion?
3. What irony does the narrator point out in the way men treat women?
4. Who are the Legion of Mary sisters, and what do they want from Jean?
5. What does Syl spend most of his free time doing in the summer, and why does it seem to be a wasted effort?
6. When the friends come to Bat's apartment to ask for their money back, what does the narrator mean when he says that Bat "shake the lists as if they was cheques" (60)?
7. How does Harry react when he learns what Jean does for a living?
8. Explain Matilda's "excursion" plan.
9. What story about finding money did Alfy once tell Gallows?
10. Describe Bat's reaction to Matilda's suggestion about the excursion.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The Housing Lark is a novel that conveys much about the importance of community--Selvon uses characters, plot details, narrative voice, and other tools to reinforce his meaning. How does he also use the structure of storytelling itself to reinforce the novel's messages about community? What structures might he have chosen rather than his "ballad" format? How does this pattern of digression into individuals' stories and return to the central plot of the housing plan transmit an important message about community? Write an essay that analyzes how the novel's structure supports its concerns with the importance of community. 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
Write an essay in which you explicate the relationship between the weather, the seasons, and the passage of time in The Housing Lark. Explain how these topics are introduced and developed, and then show how each impacts the reader's understanding of the others. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
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This section contains 1,072 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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