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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. Who finds Rachel hiding with The Darter at the Bark Theater?

2. Where did Nathaniel's mother grow up?

3. What does The Darter smuggle on the Thames?

4. Who do Nathaniel and his sister find in their house in London when they arrive after running away from school?

5. What do the men who seize Rachel and Nathaniel outside the Bark Theater drug them with?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Nathaniel first meet the girl he comes to know as Agnes?

3. What does Olive insist that Rachel and Nathaniel do with her one evening?

4. What does Nathaniel particularly remember about Olive's temperament from his childhood?

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

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

7. What does Nathaniel's and Rachel's brief time alone with their mother just before she leaves for Singapore feel like for Nathaniel?

8. How does Olive tell Nathaniel she will stay in touch with he and Rachel after she leaves London, and does she make good on her word?

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

10. What does Nathaniel especially remember about his visit to his father's Unilever office?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think Nathaniel's decision to buy the Malakites' house in The Saints represents? What is the significance of this decision in relation to Nathaniel's quest to find out more about Rose, his mother's, life and work? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Rose and Marsh Felon have a brief but intense love affair. Write an essay analyzing Ondaatje's handling of the relationship between Rose and Marsh. Why do you think Ondaatje chooses to leave the reasons behind the affair's end so vague?

Essay Topic 3

Rose meets Marsh Felon, the man who eventually recruits her to work for British Intelligence, when they are both very young and he and his family are completing roofing work on her family's house. Write an essay discussing Rose's path to her dangerous work as a spy, including the specific event and feelings that prompted her to start her work.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 704 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample