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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. Why does Ann play the piano that evening?

2. Why does Ann think she needs to go back to the house?

3. What does Ann happily note during her morning chores?

4. Why does Ann decide to kill one of the older hens?

5. How does Ann treat her bullet wound?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Loomis frighten Ann as she is playing the piano?

2. What routine do Ann and Mr. Loomis follow for the next ten days?

3. What does Ann observe the next day as she is watching the house and what does she think about?

4. How is Mr. Loomis using Faro?

5. What does Ann bring into the house as Mr. Loomis is getting better?

6. How has Mr. Loomis' illness progressed in Chapter 11, and what does he talk about while delirious?

7. What happens to Mr. Loomis at the opening to Chapter 10?

8. What do Ann and Mr. Loomis argue about concerning the crops?

9. Why does Mr. Loomis become angry and what does Ann decide to do?

10. What happens in the middle of the night that convinces Ann to move out of the house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Ann is wise to leave the valley? Do you think the implication is that her dream of teaching children is prophetic and that she will find others? Why or why not?

2. Would you have chosen the same route as Ann, i.e., leaving the valley. Why or why not?

3. How well do you think Ann will survive journeying out into a dangerous world?

4. Do you think Mr. Loomis redeems himself by pointing Ann in a likely direction to begin her journey? Give an in depth response.

Essay Topic 2

Ann watches the progress of the stranger and begins to worry that it might be someone who means her harm. Ann decides to hide all evidence of her existence by burying her garden and releasing her animals, then climbing up to a cave in the hills over her valley. Discuss the following:

1. Does it seem likely a fifteen-year-old girl would retreat from what is likely the only other human being in her surroundings for miles?

2. If you were Ann, would you adopt the same procedure to observe the person from afar for awhile? Do you think it would occur to you to do this?

3. How likely is it that the approaching human would harm another human who may be his/her only way to interact with someone else?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. What do you think is the purpose of irony? Discuss the irony of the situation that it appears the man could die from his radiation poisoning in a "safe" valley when he has avoided the same thing while walking through hundreds of miles of dangerous country. What other irony occurs in Z for Zachariah? Discuss two or three incidences of irony and whether they enhance your reading experience.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use and meaning of five symbols you choose to analyze from Z for Zachariah. What do they symbolize? Is the symbolism obvious? Effective? Does the symbolism contribute to the enjoyment of reading?

3. Trace and analyze the use of foreshadowing throughout Z for Zachariah. List at least five things that occur later in the novel that are foreshadowed earlier in the novel. Does foreshadowing increase your motivation to complete a book? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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