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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. According to J., the steam-powered boats run faster than ___________.

2. Whom does George finally ask about the time in the story J. tells about the broken watch?

3. How does Montmorency react to the men's jovial demeanor while making the stew?

4. Why do the men insist that their food supplies be delivered to their boat immediately?

5. How is Sonning described by J.?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the men pretend to ignore the steam launch when it approaches them?

2. Why do the men decide to get their clothes washed in Streatly?

3. How does Montmorency react to the tea kettle the night everyone makes stew?

4. What kinds of complaints does J. have about steam-powered boats?

5. How does Montmorency burn himself the night everyone makes stew?

6. What does Harris claim happens to him while George and J. are at Henley?

7. What does J. claim one has to do to get a tea kettle to boil?

8. What happens that lets George know that everyone is lying about who caught the fish that is mounted on the wall in the pub?

9. What change does J. notice about the group after they eat a large supper near Picnic Point?

10. What does J. claim is the very best way to get a tea kettle to boil?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze why Jerome would include the suicide of the woman in Chapter 16. How does this suicide add to the text? What effect on the reader did Jerome intend by including such a dreadful event in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

"Three Men in a Boat" has never gone out of print in its 120+ year history. Discuss at least three aspects of the novel that readers have identified with over the years. Will those aspects continue to connect with readers in the future? If so, how?

(see the answer keys)

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