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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. During the festivities for the newly crowned King George V, the New Atkinson Brewery is destroyed. How?

2. What does Tom Crick think the French really celebrate on Bastille Day when they mark the beginning of the French Revolution?

3. What is the historical event that Tom Crick keeps returning to over and over again as he explains that history seems to move in a circle?

4. How does Freddie Parr's father Jack react to the ruling by the court that Freddie's death was an accident?

5. What is Ernest Atkinson's reaction to the fire?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does the chapter title "The Saviour of the World" refer to, and what does it mean?

2. In chapter 2, a student called Price interrupts Tom Crick, the history teacher, to tell him what about history?

3. In chapter 1, the narrator describes the Crick family's relationship with the Fens how?

4. In chapter 20, Price tells Tom Crick that he thinks "explaining's a way of avoiding the facts while you pretend to get near them." Why does Price think he does not need to have explanations for history?

5. In chapter 17, tells a version of the love story between Harry Crick and Helen Atkinson. How did they meet?

6. In chapter 17, Tom Crick discusses his difficulties in trying to marry Mary Metcalf. What are the sources of those difficulties?

7. In chapter 50, Harry Crick spends a lot of time thinking about the significance of the bed he is lying in. What is his conclusion?

8. In chapter 46, Tom opens his mother's chest in the attic and finds a few items. What are they and what is their significance?

9. In chapter 38, Tom describes the death of his mother from the flu. What is most remarkable about it to him?

10. In chapter 43, Tom Crick parts from Price shouting "don't let him do it!" What is he referring to and what theme that has run through the novel is this a culmination of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel Waterland, the narrator Tom Crick uses fairy-tale language like "once upon a time" and references to supernatural beings like ghosts and witches while he recounts history. Using specific examples from the novel, deduce why Tom Crick does so. Discuss why he feels justified in mixing history and fairy tales.

Essay Topic 2

Graham Swift's novel Waterland is set in the fictional town on Gildsey and along a fictional river, the River Leem. The Fenlands, the River Ouse, the town of Ely, and many other details are, however, real. In a sense, that fact is symbolic for how the novel treats the relationship between history and story. Using specifics and quotes from the novel, explore the relationship between fact and fiction in the novel. Make sure to include Tom Crick's opinions about history in your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

In Graham Swift's novel Waterland, one major theme is that of being truthful--both towards oneself and towards others. The narrator, Tom, is the best example for that struggle. Give an example from Tom's story (or from his story-telling) of instances when telling the truth matters very much, but either Tom or the reader cannot tell whether the truth is being told. Explore what difference it would have made in that instance if the truth had been told.

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