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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 do the travelers try to use for navigation after the wreckage of the storm?

2. How many miles has The Wanderer traveled, at the beginning of Chapter 35?

3. Who ends up staying behind to start the repair work on The Wanderer?

4. After the wave hits, who becomes "Mr. Fix-It"?

5. What is the trouble of the lone sailor the crew of The Wanderer talks to on the radio?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sophie feel about seeing Bompie, as the travelers near their destination?

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

3. What does Mo do after he gets back from the trip?

4. What is the weather like, the first night on the open ocean?

5. How does Sophie describe life on the boat in the turbulent water?

6. What seems different to Cody about the way Brian bugs Sophie, as they near Bompie's?

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

8. When the family comes to visit Bompie, how does he react?

9. What injury does Cody sustain in the large wave that hits the boat?

10. As Dock tells his story of the little girl, what does Cody realize about Sophie's stories?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The sea and The Wanderer are the main settings of this novel. Discuss setting and its importance in the novel.

1) Why is the sea the main setting of the novel? In what ways is the sea personified in the novel? What does Sophie expect from it? How does she respond to it?

2) How does The Wanderer function as a setting of the novel? What does the boat contribute to the novel? Why does the author set the novel on this boat?

3) How does setting affect the beginning and end of the journey, when the characters are in Kentucky, Grand Manan, Ireland, England, and elsewhere? How are these settings different from the sea and The Wanderer?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Storytelling has an important role in the novel, through both Bompie and Sophie's storytelling. Discuss storytelling in the novel.

1) Why does Sophie tell Bompie's stories during the journey? What does Sophie add to these stories? Why does she choose certain stories to tell?

2) Why does Bompie share his stories with Sophie in his letters?

3) What is the significance of the "little kid" stories that Sophie tells?

(see the answer keys)

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