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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 what area of Ceylon did the Minors set up their residence in 1834?

2. Where was Minor born?

3. According to the author, who is the "second" protagonist of the story?

4. According to Chapter 5, which dictionary far surpassed all that came before it?

5. How many years did it take to complete the Oxford English Dictionary?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspects of his upbringing could have contributed to Minor's issues with the tempestuous and tempting country of Ceylon?

2. What does the title of the book imply to prospective readers?

3. What effect could the tragic death of his daughter have had on Murray's diligence in working on the Oxford English Dictionary?

4. What aspects of the Latin-English dictionaries provided impetus for the makers of the Oxford English Dictionary to make their own English dictionary?

5. For what reasons did Minor become the most famous contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary?

6. Why might the author have defined the word "protagonist" in such depth?

7. What is the effect of the author's choice to define the word "murder" on the audience?

8. Why might Minor's father have fallen so easily in love with Judith?

9. What reason(s) does the author give for Minor's parents sending him to the US to live with his uncle?

10. What is significant about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary's beginnings to have begun on Guy Fawkes Day in England?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the links the author draws between various vices such as sex, drugs, and alcohol and their influence on the events of the story.

Essay Topic 2

What is significant about the fact that the text has two protagonists, Minor and Murray, and that the author himself points out that this goes against the definition of the word in "Modern English Usage," which states that protagonist can only be used in the singular?

Essay Topic 3

Despite the fact that this a work of non-fiction, there are elements of foreshadowing in the way the author tells the story. Explain how this occurs and discuss their effect.

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