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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. How long does Isobel say it has been since Andrew Martin liked Gulliver?

2. What does the narrator learn from questioning Gulliver?

3. What book does the narrator see on Gulliver’s bed?

4. Why does the narrator say he does not like wearing clothes?

5. What human food does the narrator discover he likes a lot?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator explain the Riemann Hypothesis, and what does he say Andrew Martin discovered about it?

2. What happens when the narrator calls Andrew Martin’s mother?

3. Who are the main characters the narrator introduces at the beginning of the novel?

4. How does the narrator define beauty for humans?

5. What happens to the narrator for the first time in his life when Isobel gives him a sandwich?

6. What is the importance of prime numbers for the narrator?

7. How does the narrator characterize his relationship with Newton, the family dog?

8. What makes the narrator’s narrative so funny?

9. What does the narrator tell Newton?

10. How does the narrator characterize his relationship with human music?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the source of the humor Matt Haig employs in The Humans. What strategies does he use to get the reader laughing, and how does he vary his technique so that he defines a range of comic possibilities? What is his comic territory?

Essay Topic 2

Matt Haig seems to delight in describing people as aliens, even in allowing his narrator to all but confess that he is an alien. What is the effect of this language in the novel, and what does this technique show us about regular people and daily life?

Essay Topic 3

Who in today’s world holds the view that humans are greedy and violent? What policies do the parties who believe this propose? Who in today’s world believes that humans are flawed but basically good? What policies do the parties who believe this propose? How does The Humans answer this divergence of opinions?

(see the answer keys)

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