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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 Chapter 10, "Changing Seasons," who adopts Fritz's jackal puppy?

2. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," what does the narrator do when he finds it difficult to train the animals to pull with a yoke?

3. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," what creature does the narrator cause to tow the pinnace to shore?

4. In Chapter 18, "Repairs and Fortifications," what spice do the boys discover and dislike the taste of?

5. In Chapter 18, "Repairs and Fortifications," what work is being done at home while the boys go off to the Gap?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 15, "We Explore Inland," where does the family explore for the first time and what new animal do they capture to ride, there?

2. In Chapter 17, "Bounty and Peril," what new method of skinning animals does the narrator devise, and why does he feel it is necessary?

3. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," how do the narrator and his three older sons deal with the monkeys who have been damaging their outpost at Woodlands?

4. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what improvements are made to the cave house during the winter?

5. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what reactions does the family have to the dead whale?

6. In Chapter 17, "Bounty and Peril," when the boys return from hunting, what does Jack say about hunting with the ostrich, and what is the narrator's reply?

7. In Chapter 11, "Our Estates," what new source of potential danger does the family discover, and what do they decide to do about it?

8. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," when the sea turtle is towing the pinnace, what do the boys call the narrator, and how does he respond?

9. In Chapter 12, "Anniversary," how do Jack and Fritz wake the family, and how do their parents respond?

10. In Chapter 11, "Our Estates," what are the improvements that the family makes to the cave before they move in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you evaluate this novel as a teaching tool. What are the main values that it seeks to teach, and is it successful? Are there other values that it teaches besides those that the narrator directly expresses? Are these likely to be values that audiences of the time would have endorsed, and why or why not? Be sure to use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

This book was originally composed as a series of stories and then later compiled into a novel. Write an essay in which you analyze the impact this origin has had on the book's overall structure and effect on the reader.

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate this story as a reflection of the philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Which of Rousseau's ideas are being explored in this book, and does the book seem to accurately bring these ideas to life? Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

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