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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 do Nathaniel's mother's parents die?

2. Why does Agnes think Nathaniel does not want her to meet his parents?

3. What happens to Nathaniel and Agnes on the city bus at the end of the section titled "Agnes Street"?

4. What does the man Nathaniel knows as The Darter seem most interested in in his conversations with The Moth?

5. Which literary character does Nathaniel hear might be based on Arthur McCash later in his life?

Short Essay Questions

1. What one memorable story does the Moth tell Nathaniel and Rachel about Rose during his time working with Rose in the war?

2. Where does Arthur McCash find Rachel and who is she with when he looks for her in the Bark Theater?

3. Just before Nathaniel's mother departs for Singapore, what does she start telling the children for the first time?

4. Who helps Nathaniel and Rachel during Rachel's first episode with epilepsy, and what does that person do?

5. What does Nathaniel tell Agnes to try to conceal the truth of his family situation?

6. How does The Darter seem to feel about Agnes, and how does that in turn affect how Nathaniel feels about her?

7. What happens to Nathaniel and Rachel in the beginning of the section titled "Schwer"?

8. Why does Nathaniel come to know Agnes as Agnes?

9. What dramatic event occurs directly before Arthur McCash shows up in the section titled "The Mussel Boat"?

10. Why do Nathaniel and Rachel refer to Walter as The Moth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Through Nathaniel's first-person narration, Ondaatje writes, "Ours was a family with a habit for nicknames, which meant it was also a family of disguises" (7). Write an essay analyzing the connections between the use of nicknames, secrecy, and concealment in Warlight.

Essay Topic 2

How does Nathaniel's conduct when he secures a job at Britain's classified archives relate to Rose's activities as a covert agent during and after WWII? Write an essay comparing and contrasting Nathaniel's and Rose's professional conduct and aims.

Essay Topic 3

In several instances in the novel, Ondaatje uses foreshadowing for dramatic effect. For example, on page 115, he writes, "You take your adult life with you. It is not to be a reliving, but a rewitnessing. Unless of course you wish, like my sister, to damn and enact revenge on the whole pack of them." Write an essay analyzing one or two other examples in which Ondaatje uses foreshadowing to sustain readers' attention and build suspense.

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