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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 Warren the Second?

2. What does Wavey wear for the trip to St John's?

3. What color is Mavis' hair?

4. How does Tert Card like his champagne?

5. Where is the McGonigle Oil Field?

Short Essay Questions

1. Comment on Jack Buggit's 'resurrection'.

2. In what shape is the local Newfoundland economy?

3. In what ways are contrasts important in Chapter 36 of The Shipping News?

4. In what way is Quoyle's discovery of the body important to the narrative?

5. To what extent is Quoyle drawn to the green house on the point?

6. Comment on the destruction of the green house on the point.

7. What secret is exposed during the visit to St John's?

8. From the description of it in this chapter, is it possible Quoyle would enjoy living in Nutbeem's trailer?

9. What interesting plot lines are dealt with in this chapter?

10. What insight into Wavey and her friends, the Buggit family, is provided in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

THE SHIPPING NEWS is characterized by a distinctive style.

1) What do you see as the major elements of Annie Proulx's style?

2) What is the impact of that style?

3) Focus on three salient examples and comment on their effectiveness as well as their relationship to the novel as a whole.

Make this a personal response.

Essay Topic 2

THE SHIPPING NEWS is about physical and internal journeys.

Our lives can be described as journeys during which we encounter many experiences, some pleasant, others terrifying. Our journeys involve the physical, as we move from place to place, and the emotional/psychological, as we respond to what happens to us. Examine the way journeys shape the character and destiny of Quoyle, Agnis, Hamm and Jack Buggit.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the important contrasts that are represented in THE SHIPPING NEWS.

1) Focus on contrasting values and attitudes. In what ways are those in Newfoundland different from what Quoyle has left behind? Illustrate by focusing on three characters and make frequent reference to the text.

2) Consider the contrast between life in Killick-Claw and that which Partridge describes in his phone call from Los Angeles.

3) Discuss the ways in which these contrasts support the themes of the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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