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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 seems to be receding to Helen?
2. How long will it take Darrow's arm to heal?
3. What is in Xa?
4. Who does a soldier say were heroes?
5. What does Linh wish about Darrow?
Short Essay Questions
1. What do Helen and Darrow discuss concerning Linh and his helping Helen?
2. How does Helen's teaching Linh to swim change something for Linh?
3. What did Linh do while away from Helen and Darrow?
4. What do Helen and Robert discuss concerning Vietnam?
5. What happens to Darrow and Anderson?
6. What happens with Robert?
7. What does Robert ask Helen and what is her response?
8. Who is Thao and what does she feel towards Linh and Helen?
9. Describe the dinner Thao has for Linh.
10. What do Annick and Helen discuss when she has dinner with Annick?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Helen gets her first real taste of being out in the field. Darrow seems to have no choice but to take Helen under his wing. The reader gets the impression that the main reason Helen wanted to go to Vietnam was to follow in her brother Michael's footsteps. Helen is told, none too gently, that she does not belong in Vietnam or in war time under any circumstances, and certainly not as a combat photographer. Helen is on the verge of fleeing the country many times but there is always something that makes her want to stay. For a while, that thing is Darrow. Helen and Darrow fall into an easy affair. Darrow, much older, is someone that Helen looks up to, someone that can train her. Darrow makes it clear that he is a married man and has no future with Helen. At first Helen is devastated but then realizes that perhaps it is best. Helen does not permit herself to miss Darrow while he is away.
1. Discuss the reasons you think Darrow has become Helen's mentor and whether you think he is a good mentor to her. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.
2. Discuss what you think might have been Helen's relationship with her father and brother if she feels compelled to go to Vietnam because of what they did with their lives. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.
3. Discuss what you think of Darrow's character in light of taking a much younger woman to mentor and then having an affair with her even though he is a married man. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the following:
1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why?
2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?
3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?
4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?
5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.
Essay Topic 3
Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:
1. Compare/contrast the characters of Helen and Linh. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.
2. Compare/contrast the characters of Linh and Darrow. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?
3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in The Lotus Eaters help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.
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This section contains 1,123 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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