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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. Where is Lucy from?

2. What does "CAP" refer to in the novel?

3. Where does Lucy meet Timo in Chapter 14?

4. What are the names of Lucy's sister's children?

5. What is the name of the bar that Sarah and Maria go to in Chapter 15?

Short Essay Questions

1. What paradox can be seen in Angel's character? How is this paradox illustrated in Chapter 1?

2. What is illustrated for the reader in the first encounter between Lucy and Maria in Chapter 14?

3. What observations does Lucy make of Maria and Sarah in Chapter 14?

4. What is significant about the phone call between Angel and Case in Chapter 7?

5. How is Angel's character introduced in Chapter 1? What does the author reveal about his character in this chapter?

6. What is the principle setting of The Water Knife? How is this setting described?

7. What is the signifcance of the allusions to Cadillac Desert in Chapter 18?

8. In Chapters 17 through 20, the three main characters finally come into direct contact with one another. How does this impact the narrative?

9. How does Maria's perspective differ from those of the other main characters when she is introduced in Chapter 3?

10. What is established through the exchange between Lucy and Angel in Chapter 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Lucy's profession? How does Lucy's profession help her in the course of the novel? How does it hinder her? How does her profession influence her outlook on life?

Essay Topic 2

What makes Lucy try to take the water rights in the end of the novel? Do you think she is justified in doing so? Why or why not? What obstacle does this action present to the other main characters?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the relationship between Sarah and Maria in the novel. Where and when did Sarah and Maria meet? What led them to living with one another? What does Sarah do for survival? What happens to her in the course of the story?

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