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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 17, "Bounty and Peril," what does the family discover on Shark Island after they have left the antelope there for several months?

2. In Chapter 15, "We Explore Inland," what use does the narrator say the family can find for fuller's earth?

3. In Chapter 16, "A Winged Steed," what creature becomes the family's "winged steed"?

4. What does the family find living inside the tree that Falconhurst is built on?

5. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what is the "unpleasant task" that the chapter title refers to?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 15, "We Explore Inland," how does Ernest kill the muskrats, and what does he intend to do with them?

2. In Chapter 11, "Our Estates," how do the narrator and his sons make the air in the cave safe?

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

4. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," what dirty job does the family undertake, and what does it cause Elizabeth to suggest?

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

6. In Chapter 16, "A Winged Steed," how do the narrator and his sons succeed in catching an ostrich?

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

8. In Chapter 17, "Bounty and Peril," what new boat do they make and what is Elizabeth's reaction?

9. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what happens to Jack in the swamp?

10. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," why does the narrator not take the pinnace to explore beyond Cape Disappointment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Readers often react negatively to the variety of animal-based foods that the family eats while on the island. How much of this reaction is cultural? Write an essay in which you discuss the likely response of a European audience of the early nineteenth century, using internet research to support your claims about what Europeans of this time were accustomed to eating and what their attitude to novel food sources would likely have been. Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the novel's narrative voice: how does it characterize the narrator, how would you describe the narrator's language, and how does it impact the reader's experience of the story?

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