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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 did Gerald's mother object to getting him a donkey?

2. What did Gerald bring with him to go fishing with Taki?

3. The day before his birthday, what did Gerald notice about his family?

4. What time did Taki usually begin fishing?

5. What are elvers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Kokino? What does Kokino mean in Greek? What did Kokino and Gerald do together?

2. What did Gerald do with the crab he and Roger discovered on one of their walks? What did Gerald find fascinating about the crab that led him to further exploration?

3. What did the family do on Sven's last day at their villa? Who came to visit that day? What did Sven do upon meeting this guest? How does Mother describe Sven as gets into the cab to leave? Why did Larry think her comment was ironic?

4. Who was Sally? Where did Sally come from? How did the name Sally come to be? Why was Gerald excited to have Sally as a member of the household?

5. Why did George introduce Gerald to Theo Stephanides? What did Gerald hope to learn from Theo?

6. What kinds of spiders did Gerald find on the island? What did he witness one day while observing one of the spiders he had caught?

7. What did Gerald and Theo discover on their excursion to the lake? Why was this discovery exciting for Gerald?

8. What dead creature did Gerald load onto his boat and bring home from the bay? What did he do with it upon coming home? How did the family react to his newest creature?

9. What was "catching cuttlefish with love?" How did it work? What was Gerald's response to this interesting fishing style?

10. How did Gerald's family react to the seahorses? What unusual thing did Theodore teach Gerald about seahorses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many important scenes in the memoir in which the whole family reacts to something Gerald has done. One is the family's reaction to Pavlo. Another is the description of the turtle on the veranda. By their reactions, the family provides us with important parts of their personalities. Compare and contrast these two important examples of the family reacting to something Gerald has done, and discuss what we learn about the people involved.

Essay Topic 2

Gerald gives detailed descriptions of two customs of the village in which he lives. One is the wedding ceremony, and another childbirth. Describe both of these customs, and how Gerald ends up witnessing them both in his first months on the island.

Essay Topic 3

Gerald says upon introducing Theodore Stephanides to his story, "...someone who was going to become immediately the most important person in my life. To me, Theodore was one of the most remarkable people I had ever met." Explain who Theodore Stephanides is, and why he is so important in Gerald's life.

(see the answer keys)

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