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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. Who is Vincent D'Agosta?

2. What does the medical examiner find inside the chest of one of the young victims of the museum murders?

3. Why does the red-haired kid follow his brother, Billy, into a dark, cavernous room?

4. What strange scent does Ven smell in the warehouse?

5. What does Dr. Frock tell Margo the Ki tribe once used to treat headaches in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Dr. Frock's main complaint about Dr. Cuthbert's new exhibit at the Museum of Natural History?

2. What is a ballistics analysis and why does Pendergast suggest one be done on the blood at the crime scene in Chapter 14?

3. 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?

4. In what year does Whittlesey's expedition take place? How long is this before the events depicted in the rest of the novel?

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

6. 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?

7. Why is D'Agosta called to the Computer Room in Chapter 26? What happens while he is there?

8. What is Margo Green working on at the Museum of Natural History? Who is her adviser?

9. What began the rumor of the museum beast?

10. Why is the local bar, The Blarney Stone Tavern, near the museum referred to as The Bones by museum employees?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the character relationships below in detail, citing examples from the book:

1) Margo and Smithback

2) Smithback and Rickman

3) D'Agosta and Pendergast

4) D'Agosta and Coffey

5) Coffey and Pendergast

6) Dr. Frock and Dr. Cuthbert.

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

Discuss the Museum of Natural History. How true to the real museum were the writers of this novel? Discuss what real visitors to the Museum of Natural History might hope to see. How do the real exhibits of the museum compare to the fictional exhibit discussed in this novel? Why did the writers chose to set their novel in such a setting? How does the setting of this novel affect the overall plot of the novel? How might the novel have been different if it were set somewhere else?

(see the answer keys)

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