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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 qualifies Bat to run the excursion to Hamdon Court?
2. When Matilda asks Bat why he called the name "Jeanie" while they were having sex, what literary technique is employed (52)?
3. From the narrator's comment that "Syl would of tried the Savoy that night, he was so thirsty," what can be concluded about the Savoy (79)?
4. What is a char-a-banc?
5. Why does Harry go into the phone booth?
Short Essay Questions
1. Who are the Legion of Mary sisters, and what do they want from Jean?
2. What story about finding money did Alfy once tell Gallows?
3. What about the timing of the mens' plan to buy a house makes the narrator think they were never serious to begin with?
4. How did Harry end up in London, and what point does the narrator say this illustrates?
5. What two opposing forces pull at Charlie Victor during the excursion to Hamdon Court?
6. What tactics does Syl use to try to get Pat to sleep with him that violate modern Western standards of consent?
7. 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)?
8. What details does the narrator give about the excursion crowd's clothing and the things they are carrying, and what do these details imply?
9. When the friends come to Bat's apartment to ask for their money back, how does Bat use their feelings for Harry to manipulate them?
10. Explain Matilda's "excursion" plan.
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
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 3
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.
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This section contains 1,216 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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