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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. How fast are the winds?

2. Of the GPS, ham radio, and radar, what is still working after the massive wave?

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

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

5. How does Cody contact the ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Bompie in the story of the swimming hole?

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

3. What does Sophie hear when Cody is actually asking about her harness?

4. When the travelers arrive in Ireland, who are they able to reach by phone?

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

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

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

8. What gift does Cody give his father?

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

10. What makes it difficult to find Bompie's house in the town of Thorpe?

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

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss animals in the novel.

1) How does Sophie relate to animals during the trip? What does her relationship with animals show about her experiences and personality?

2) How do Sophie's cousins relate to animals? Compare Cody and Brian's reactions to the creatures the travelers encounter. What do their reactions show about their personalities?

3) At what points in the journey are animals present or absent in the story? What is the significance of this?

(see the answer keys)

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