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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 Harry runs into Jean near the park on the night he is wandering around high, what does he finally realize?

2. Why does Gallows hope that he finds a wallet on the ground instead of finding loose money, as Alfy did?

3. Why does Gallows suggest that Pat be the one to go in and ask for a hotel room?

4. How does Jean react when Gallows tells her about the legal danger Poor has placed Harry in?

5. Which of the friends urges the others to give Bat a chance to explain what is happening with the housing plan?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Syl spend most of his free time doing in the summer, and why does it seem to be a wasted effort?

2. Describe Bat's reaction to Matilda's suggestion about the excursion.

3. How does Harry react when he learns what Jean does for a living?

4. What tactics does Syl use to try to get Pat to sleep with him that violate modern Western standards of consent?

5. How did Harry end up in London, and what point does the narrator say this illustrates?

6. When they are talking near the park, what truths does Jean reveal to Harry about Bat and his friends?

7. Describe the crowd's behavior on the bus on the way to Hamdon Court.

8. When, outside the final hotel, Gallows asks whether Syl got Pat an Indian curry, what is he referring to, and what is Syl's reply?

9. What function do the historical details offered during the Hamdon Court excursion serve?

10. How does Bat manipulate the situation so that he is the one who ends up with Pat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is The Housing Lark itself potentially an example of using humor as a defense against pain? Consider how the characters use humor as a deflecting device and defense mechanism. Then, do some research into Sam Selvon's background and his other works. What evidence do you find that suggests whether or not Sam Selvon's writing of The Housing Lark as a comedy is similar to his characters' use of comedy? Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

In one lesson, you imagined a possible ending for The Housing Lark and then explained what messages your proposed ending would send regarding the tension between the pragmatic and the ideal. Now that you have finished the book, write an essay that analyzes its actual ending: explore the ideas about "use" and "dreaming" conveyed by this ending. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

You have already examined the internalized racism that characterizes several people in The Housing Lark. But does the narrator share this internalized racism? Write an essay that takes and defends a clear position on this question. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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