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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 does Loomis demand about dinner?

2. What does Ann do later that night after playing the piano?

3. Why does Ann change her approach to the farm?

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

5. How does Ann treat her bullet wound?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Ann ask Mr. Loomis to use and what is his response?

4. Why does Ann have to abandon her cave and what does Mr. Loomis do there?

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

6. What does Ann discover about the tractor, and what does she do?

7. How is Mr. Loomis using Faro?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Z for Zachariah could be said to be a "bildungsroman" of Ann, the main character. Discuss the following:

1. Define the concepts "bildungsroman" and "coming of age."

2. Thoroughly trace and analyze Z for Zachariah as a bildungsroman of Ann. Give specific examples. What does Ann learn? How has she changed? Is the change for the better?

3. Do you think young people in our modern culture go through a coming of age period? Do you think the concept of "coming of age" is inherent in the human experience? Why or why not?

4. Do you think you have lived through a "coming of age" period in your own life? Discuss as thoroughly as you willing to share.

Essay Topic 2

Many readers of a book such as Z for Zachariah place themselves in the position of someone like Ann, wondering about what their response would be in a similar situation. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think one of the values of literature is to serve as a reflection of oneself? Why or why not?

2. Socrates said "Know thyself." How can reading a book such as Z for Zachariah help a reader to know him/herself? Do you find yourself reflecting on your own character and abilities when reading Z for Zachariah ? Why or why not?

3. Choose one specific incident to discuss and compare Ann's response to how you think you would respond.

Essay Topic 3

Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said that in reading fantastical or non-realistic literature, the reader must be willing to suspend his/her disbelief. Discuss the following:

1. In Chapter 6, Ann along with the reader learns that John Loomis walks from New York to somewhere in Pennsylvania through hundreds of miles of radiation-laden country, along with other poisons such as nerve gas. Is it possible to suspend one's disbelief in order to "play along" with the scenario the author sets up? Is it likely that in the 1960s, a plastic would have been invented that protected one from the effects of radiation exposure? Does this unlikely scenario make you more or less inclined to be engaged with the rest of the story? Explain your answers.

2. What are two other improbable situations in this book that one has to accept in order to engage with the story? Do you have trouble with either situation you name?

3. Are there any situations that stretch your imagination too far and makes you unable to accept the basic premise of the book? What is (are) it (they)?

4. Are you willing in your reading experiences to accept some unrealistic situations in order to become engaged in a book? What would be the purpose of doing so?

(see the answer keys)

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