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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 long after Rose's death is Nathaniel invited to apply for work at the Foreign Office?

2. Who does Nathaniel buy a house from in Suffolk?

3. What does Agnes tell Nathaniel she lies awake at night and wishes for?

4. Where does The Moth work?

5. What nickname do Nathaniel and his sister give to the man in charge of caring for them in the section titled "A Table Full of Strangers"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did The Moth react when The Darter and Olive Lawrence would fight?

2. What story does Nathaniel's mother tell her children about the family of roofers who worked on her childhood home?

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

4. Who are the first people Nathaniel sees when he wakes up from being knocked out in the section titled "Schwer"?

5. What does Arthur McCash tell Nathaniel that startles him when McCash surprises Nathaniel at Victoria Station?

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

7. What does Nathaniel get in trouble for, that generations of boys before him have also done, at his boarding school in Chapter 1?

8. What does Nathaniel think he sees while dancing with Agnes one night at The White Hart club in Bromley?

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

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

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

Write an essay exploring how Ondaatje uses Nathaniel's experiences at The Criterion and at the restaurant in World's End to help the reader understand his maturation as a young adult, and to offer glimpses into what kind of an adult he may become.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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