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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. The title of Chapter 9 is "A Growing Menagerie." What is a menagerie?

2. At the beginning of Chapter 4, "Back to the Wreck," what do the narrator and Elizabeth decide their next priority should be?

3. Which animals does the family carry from the ship with them in their improvised boat?

4. When the narrator sees the tall, arching roots of the trees where they are going to build their home, what kind of tree does he say they are?

5. What does Ernest do that causes the narrator to criticize him for thinking he is "clever" (18)?

Short Essay Questions

1. On the second morning, why are the dogs afraid of Fritz, and how does he win them over?

2. In Chapter 9, "A Growing Menagerie," how does Ernest eventually end up owning the monkey, Knips?

3. When the narrator finds the karatas plant, what does he ask Ernest, and what does his motivation for the question seem to be?

4. When the children are told of the decision to move to the grove of trees, what is their response and what is it an allusion to?

5. When the narrator and Fritz go exploring for the first time and are walking through the grass, what animal surprises them, and how do they react?

6. When the narrator finally agrees to build a treehouse, what does he say he will do with their original camping site?

7. In Chapter 7, "Bread," what happens as a result of Ernest's discovery of manioc root?

8. In Chapter 7, "Bread," what does the reader learn about the mission of the ship, and why is this so fortunate for the family?

9. When Fritz shoots the margay, how does Ernest react, and what does the narrator tell him?

10. What problem occurs when the family tries to launch their barrel boat, and how do they solve it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you explore the sometimes conflicting attitudes the book expresses toward the usefulness of book learning. Does the narrator believe that the kind of education you can get from books is always valuable, or only valuable under certain circumstances? Use specific textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

What is the thematic significance of the many homes and outposts that the family constructs? Write an essay that describes these and notes their plot significance and then offers an analysis of what thematic idea is supported by this proliferation of "homes." Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate the ending of this book; how satisfying is the ending, and why? Use specific textual evidence as you make a case for or against the ending of the story.

(see the answer keys)

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