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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 name does the Countess tell Gerald to call her during their visit?

2. What did Larry say over and over again upon seeing Gerald and the bear?

3. How did Gerald's family react when he walked into the drawing room the afternoon he had met the gypsy?

4. Who attended the seance with Mrs. Haddock?

5. What did Gerald drink throughout his meal with the Countess?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who did Gerald and his mother find sitting on their front porch the afternoon they returned from their excursion into the olive groves? Where did this person come from and why? How did Mother get along with this new guest?

2. Where did Margo go for treatment for her acne and weight gain? With whom did she stay? Was the treatment successful?

3. Who did Gerald entrust to care for his baby hedgehogs while he was gone for the weekend with his mother? What condition were they in when he returned?

4. Who was Papa Demetrios? How did Gerald and Papa Demetrios know each other? What story did he tell Gerald about a fellow villager, Andreas Papoyakis?

5. What was the Talking Head? How did it work?

6. What did Donald want to read to Larry? What was Larry's response? What was Mother's response?

7. Who was Tickletummy? Where did Tickletummy come from? What special quality did Tickletummy have that warranted his name?

8. Who arrived at the house in the middle of the night? Where did they come from and why did they come to the villa? How did the family react to their arrival?

9. Who was the Countess Mavrodaki? Why did she contact Gerald? What was Larry's reaction to her letter to Gerald?

10. What did Gerald observe about the women and the machinery of pressing olives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of the chapter "Interlude for Spirits" to the memoir. Why did the author choose this title for the chapter? How does this chapter fit in with the rest of the memoir? Which characters are in the spotlight in this chapter and why?

Essay Topic 2

When Leslie is brought to trial by a neighbor accusing Roger of eating three turkeys, Spiro tells him how to handle the problem. What does Spiro help Leslie do, and how does his idea work out for Leslie? What comment is Durrell making about the legal affairs in their small village?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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