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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. Why is Stivvings always missing school?

2. What does the story of the shop in a former house prompt J. to think about?

3. What do the men push aside to make room for everything they want to pack?

4. Who worries that he may have forgotten to pack his toothbrush?

5. According to J., what animals do some kind of boaters hire to pull their boats?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the men decide not to pack the oil stove?

2. What does J. note about what people remember about being seasick after they return from a trip?

3. What about the houses in Kingston makes them unique?

4. What does George do for a living?

5. What does J. remark about the original packing list the men create for their trip?

6. What compromise do the men come to about sleeping at inns or camping?

7. What does J. report happened to two men he saw on shore once, holding a tow line and looking blankly at each other?

8. In the story J. tells while the men are packing, why do all of the other passengers on the train leave when J. enters with large cheeses?

9. What does Harris say he would like to do to any man who puts up a "no trespassing" sign?

10. After George sees a couple walking along the shore with a tow line that is not attached to anything, what does he decide to do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how alcohol/drinking/being drunk is portrayed in "Three Men in a Boat" as well as why Jerome would include the instances he does of characters drinking/having too much to drink in the text.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast George with Harris, making sure to use specific quotations from the text in your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

Present an argument discussing why the group's decision to take the train home at the conclusion of the novel DOES or DOES NOT fit with what the reader has come to learn and know about this particular group of characters.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 751 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample