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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. What poet does Marsh Felon read a work from during his BBC radio program that is a mediation on the destruction war wreaks on the natural world?

2. What kinds of clothes does Rose wear in White Paint?

3. What was written on Rose Williams' gravestone?

4. What is the name of the town in Suffolk where Nathaniel buys his house in the section titled "The Saints"?

5. What kind of floor is in Rose Williams' house in White Paint?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nathaniel eventually learn about the exact way in which his mother died?

2. What happens when a person steps on the nightingale floor in Rose's house in White Paint?

3. How do Rachel's feelings towards Rose, her mother, change after the incident in the Bark Theater?

4. What does Marsh Felon teach Rose how to do in the section titled "Wildfowling"?

5. What is the real reason The Darter is so awkward with Nathaniel at their meeting in the book's final pages?

6. What is significant about the Malakites' house that Nathaniel buys in the section titled "The Saints"?

7. In the section titled "In the Archives," what does Nathaniel feel he has lost along with any details about his mother's work in the war?

8. What does Rose tell Nathaniel when he asks her about what happened to The Moth?

9. What kind of work does Marsh Felon do besides his work for the British Intelligence Service?

10. What kind of a relationship does Marsh Felon have with his own family as an adult?

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

Write an essay exploring how The Moth's explanation of the word "schwer" relates to the larger theme of the long, destructive, and lingering effects of war on individuals, families, and nations.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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