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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 material does the boat-maker use in a technique to help his work stay smooth?

2. Aside from Sophie, how many people are going on the sailing trip across the ocean?

3. What does Cody think about all the stops The Wanderer makes?

4. What does Uncle Stew call six to eight foot waves?

5. What does the crew call the new bilge box?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Frank's wife call Sophie?

2. Describe the nightmare the narrator has.

3. What does Sophie's mother do?

4. How did Uncle Dock get his nickname?

5. Why does Uncle Mo worry while Cody and Sophie are away visiting Wood Island?

6. What does Uncle Dock do, when the fog comes in, and how does it affect Sophie?

7. How does The Wanderer look, compared to the other boats in Martha's Vineyard?

8. What does Frank say happened to the bait in the empty pot?

9. What happens to the car in Sophie's story about Bompie?

10. How long have Sophie's uncles wanted to sail across the ocean?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Wanderer deals with dangerous situations, and the characters all face death. Discuss the life-and-death struggles in the novel.

1) How do the characters change when they're faced with life-and-death situations? How does Cody change? How does Sophie change? How do the uncles change?

2) How do the characters respond differently to danger toward themselves and toward others?

3) What do life-and-death encounters reveal about the characters' relationships? How do characters' relationships change during the life-and-death struggle of the storm?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of family in the novel.

1) How does Sophie's status as an orphan affect her sense of family? Is she, in some ways, not part of the family? How do her parents and Bompie make her part of their family?

2) How does family help build identity? How does family help the characters have a sense of themselves and their place in the world?

3) How does Sophie lose her birth family even more because of her repressed memories? How does the loss of these memories, in addition to the death of her parents and grandfather, affect her?

4) What is Cody's relationship with his father like? What does their relationship reveal about family?

Essay Topic 3

One of Sophie's primary personality traits is curiosity. Discuss Sophie's curiosity.

1) Why is Sophie curious about every new thing she encounters? Why does she ask so many questions?

2) Why does Sophie imagine living the lifestyles of new people she meets? What does imagining different lives do for Sophie?

3) How is Sophie's curiosity and enthusiasm contrasted with Brian's negativity and practicality? Is Sophie a dreamer because of her curiosity and enthusiasm?

(see the answer keys)

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