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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 relative of Margo's died in the weeks before the opening of the main plot of the novel?

2. Why did Dr. Cuthbert move the Whittlesey crates into the Secure Area?

3. Where is Whittlesey's Expedition taking place?

4. What does Whittlesey see on the dead body on the trial before him that tells him it is human?

5. Who is Vincent D'Agosta?

Short Essay Questions

1. What effect is the murder investigation having on the Museum of Natural History's visitors and staff?

2. What is the Mbwun figure? What happened when it was added to the Superstition Exhibit?

3. What is odd about the DNA sample the lab tech examines in Chapter 17?

4. What does Margo smell in the Superstition Exhibit hall that frightens her? Where has the reader heard of this scent previously in the novel?

5. What do the scientists at the independent lab tell Pendergast and D'Agosta in Chapter 23 about the DNA sample taken from the claw found in the chest of one of the victims?

6. Where does Whittlesey find Crocker? What does the marks on the body say to Whittlesey about Crocker's fate?

7. What great find did Whittlesey make shortly after the departure of the other scientists? What does this appear to prove?

8. What family crisis is taking place in the Green family, forcing Margo to make a decision that could end her dreams of completing her education?

9. What is a scientific expedition?

10. What does Pendergast require of Dr. Wright in order to begin a successful investigation into the murders in the museum?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is William Smithback? What is his role in this novel? What does Smithback do for a living? Why is he at the Museum of Natural History? Why does Rickman edit his manuscript so heavily? Is this fair? Why does Smithback become involved in the murder investigation? Does the information Smithback finds help in the investigation? If so, how? Why does Margo dislike Smithback? Who else mistrusts Smithback? What does Smithback finally write in his manuscript? What does he do with the money from the book? What does this say about Smithback's overall character?

Essay Topic 2

In the end, how many people did the creature kill? Why did the creature not kill Cuthbert? What happened to Cuthbert instead? Was this a fate well deserved, or a sad turn of events? Explain your answer. What did the police find in the creature's lair? What does this suggest about the creature's lifestyle? Who was identified by the artifacts found in the creature's lair? Did the creature really kill all those people? Why did the FBI not allow Dr. Frock to autopsy the body of the creature? What might have been found if he had? Why would the FBI try to cover up such a creature's existence? Is it possible another creature could again invade New York or a similar place? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Who is Margo Green? Why does the author focus on this character at the beginning of the novel? What does Margo do at the museum? What is her dissertation on? How does this dissertation relate to the events that take place in the novel? How does Margo stumble upon the truth about the killer in the museum? Does Margo know the entire truth about the killer when the climax of the novel takes place? What is still left for Margo to learn? What difference could have been made had Margo learned this last bit of information about the killer?

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