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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. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 2, what is the name of the of the office manager at the Taylor's?

2. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 3, where is Oiler going on his next dive job?

3. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 1, what is the model name of the downed plane?

4. In the italicized section of Chapter 4, what instrument does the girl play?

5. In the italicized section of Chapter 4, who is coming to visit the girl in two weeks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Debussy say that she wants in regard to gender?

2. Why is the Kid called the Thalidomide Kid?

3. What are Bobby and Oiler doing off the coast of Mississippi as the non-italicized section of Chapter 1 opens?

4. What does Bobby find in his paternal grandmother's basement after her funeral?

5. Who is the bathless one and what does he do?

6. What does Oiler say that he regrets the most about his time in Vietnam?

7. In Chapter 2, why does Bobby rent a boat and sail around the little cluster of islands off the coast of Mississippi?

8. At the beginning of Chapter 4, what appears in the night at the girl's window that makes her whisper Bobby's name?

9. Where does Bobby move in after taking all his belongings out of his apartment?

10. How does the fire start in Bianca's apartment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bobby has two more experiences of solitude. How are these experiences different that his experience on the jack-up rig? How do the language and cadence give the reader a feeling that the other two experiences of solitude have a different quality than the experience Bobby has aboard the jack-up rig?

Essay Topic 2

In what ways is this book a story about God? How is God related to the idea of duality? Or Conscious and subconscious? Is the dark side of the unconscious also God? or is God only about the light? Are heaven and Hell two halves of the same coin? What do you think the author is trying to suggest to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Bobby thinks that he knows no other state of being than loneliness. Where does his loneliness come from? What happens to him on the jack-up rig when he is truly alone? Is there a distinction between the feeling of loneliness amongst people and the experience of truly being alone? What does Bobby say finally soothes his experience of solitude on the jack-up rig?

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