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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Tom dislikes the pike because...
2. Tom thinks Mary cannot overcome her insanity because...
3. What is Dick's reaction to the revelation about his birth?
4. Where does Tom Crick take Price to talk about Tom's forced retirement?
5. What sparks Tom Crick's interest in the mating habits of eels?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
One major conflict in Graham Swift's novel Waterland is the one between the narrator, Tom Crick, and the headmaster of the school where Tom teaches, Lewis Scott. Using specific examples from the book, show what the four root causes of that conflict are--a conflict about personality, a conflict about the school's reputation, a conflict about teaching style, and a conflict about the usefulness of teaching history. Analyze the differing visions of the future that Tom and the headmaster seem to harbor and the implications of each of those visions for the future of society.
Essay Topic 2
Carefully consider the character of Ernest Atkinson in Graham Swift's novel Waterland. Trace the mistakes he makes that lead to his social, political, and financial decline in Gildsey and that cause catastrophe for his descendants. Finally, analyze what Ernest's life might symbolize in Tom Crick's narrative about the Fens and its people.
Essay Topic 3
Unusual deaths and half-dead states haunt the characters of the novel Waterland by Graham Swift. Choose one character whose death or death-like state is traumatizing to the other characters, describe the circumstances of his or her death, and explore the death's lasting effects. Using specifics from the book, argue why those deaths were as important as they were. Analyze how death serves as a theme and as a symbol in the novel and what that theme or symbol implies for Tom Crick's view of history.
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This section contains 456 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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