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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What makes Rainsford a little uncomfortable about the General?
(a) Zaroff keeps staring at him.
(b) Zaroff keeps making strange jokes that Rainsford doesn't understand.
(c) Zaroff carries a pistol with him.
(d) Zaroff refuses to answer Rainsford's questions.

2. On page 1, the narrator says that the night "was palpable as it pressed its thick warm blackness in upon the yacht." What literary technique is being employed in this phrase?
(a) Parallelism.
(b) Hyperbole.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Personification.

3. What kind of people does Rainsford guess might live on the island?
(a) War criminals.
(b) Missing sailors.
(c) Cannibals.
(d) Hunters.

4. Who is Rainsford's hunting partner?
(a) Neilsen.
(b) Sanger.
(c) Whitney.
(d) Ivan.

5. Which is the best description of Rainsford when he is in the water?
(a) He thinks the situation is amusing at first but rapidly realizes that it is serious.
(b) He is shocked at first but stays calm and thinks his situation through.
(c) He panics and then is embarrassed because he is well-known for his courage.
(d) He is overconfident and thinks that nothing can harm him.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 5, evil is described as "tangible." What would this mean is true about evil?

2. What makes the General's servant intimidating when he first opens the door?

3. Into what two groups does Rainsford divide up the world?

4. As Rainsford begins to walk along the cliffside, what does he notice in the jungle?

5. Which animal does Rainsford call the most dangerous?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the early warning signs about Zaroff's island that Rainsford ignores.

2. What layers of irony are later revealed about Rainsford's suggestion that cannibals might live on Ship-Trap Island?

3. What does Rainsford find in the jungle as he is walking toward Zaroff's house, and what does he conclude from it?

4. How does Rainsford end up falling overboard?

5. How did General Zaroff's early life prepare him to be a hunter?

6. How does the discussion of the Cape buffalo introduce a possible meaning of the story's title?

7. What is the disagreement between Rainsford and Whitney?

8. Once he falls overboard, what does Rainsford do and what does it show about his character?

9. Describe Rainsford's first impression of General Zaroff.

10. Describe Zaroff's dining room.

(see the answer keys)

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