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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 name does Cody give the black bird that visits the boat?

2. What does the crew of The Wanderer do while they eat their food, after arriving on land?

3. What do Brian, Sophie, and Cody plan on calling their raft to sail on the Ohio River?

4. What does Brian insist Sophie is doing regarding her parents?

5. What does Uncle Stew do for a living?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the altercation between Sophie and Brian?

2. What does Uncle Stew say about the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current?

3. What happens to the sails in the heavy wind?

4. In Sophie's story about Bompie and his father, why does Bompie visit his father?

5. What quotation from Tennyson does Uncle Dock yell out?

6. What dreams does Cody have about Sophie, after the storms are over?

7. What is the significance of the stops the boat makes before setting out to sea?

8. How does Sophie feel about the ham radio?

9. What do Sophie and Cody do to the sails of the boat, when they finally get them up again?

10. What gift does Cody give his father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss careers in the novel.

1) How do the characters define themselves by their careers? How have Mo and Stew's careers changed them?

2) How does Sophie define herself by what she will be in the future? Why does she imagine different types of lives?

3) How do Sophie, Brian, and Cody view careers differently from each other?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the novel's structure.

1) Why does the author divide the novel into parts? What is the significance of the six parts of the novel?

2) Why do the chapters of the novel vary in length? What is different about the very short chapters? What role do these short chapters play in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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