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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. What are their bedrooms called?

2. Who says, “I don’t want to do anything but look and listen and smell; what else is there to do”?

3. How much did the nursery cost in comparison to the rest of the house?

4. From whose perspective is the story told?

5. What is the husband’s name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Peter and Wendy trick George and Lydia into the nursery?

2. Why does George feel perspiration on his brown when he is in the nursery?

3. What is odd about the children when Dr.McClean arrives?

4. How does the nursery change once George and Lydia enter?

5. Why do George and Lydia suppose that they cannot change the nursery?

6. How does Lydia propose to change her feelings of worthlessness?

7. How does Dr. McClean say the nursery feels?

8. How do Wendy and Peter react when George asks them about Africa?

9. What does Lydia think is wrong with her life?

10. Before the African veldt, what did the children conjure in the nursery?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bradbury uses the names Peter and Wendy as an allusion to the characters in the story of Peter Pan.

What is suggested by Bradbury’s use of the names? How are similar and dissimilar to the characters of Peter Pan are they? Is Bradbury being ironic? If so, how?

Essay Topic 2

When Lydia first notices that something is not quite right about the nursery, she wants to call a psychologist. What function do psychologists have in this society?

Why does Lydia feel it is necessary to call a psychologist for the nursery? How are the profession and the machine connected? What will the psychologist analyze? What information can be gained? What is David McClean’s reaction to the nursery? How does he represent the voice of reason?

Essay Topic 3

The Veldt belongs to the science fiction genre.

Define the literary term "genre" and name three other genres in addition to the science fiction genre. What are commonalities between science fiction novels and stories? What are the advantages and disadvantages of assigning a genre to a novel or short story? What do you think is the difference between a science fiction and a historical novel or mystery?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 656 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample