View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Penelope and Michael do with Michael's paintings of Abbey when they married?

2. Who was the postman that Michael helped at the door in "The Murderer Wasn't Always a Murderer"?

3. What is "jeszcze raz" translated as in "The Lives Before They Had Us"?

4. Who is the third-eldest Dunbar brother?

5. What was the paperweight on "The Clay Stack"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Michael do after his mother died? Why?

2. How is the setting of The Surrounds described?

3. What is revealed in the letters Clay receives in Part 4?

4. How did Clay obtain Michael's address?

5. Who does "the Murderer" refer to and why does he come to the Dunbar home?

6. Where did Michael Dunbar grow up? Who raised him?

7. Where is Michael's home and the bridge site located? How is this setting described?

8. What inner conflicts does Clay face regarding returning home after he has spent time at his father's home?

9. How does irony apply to Penelope's piano in Part 4?

10. How did Michael Dunbar first meet Abbey Hanley?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Outline and discuss the narrative plot structure of Bridge of Clay. What is the inciting incident in the story? Where does the climax occur? How would you compare the plot structure of this novel to the classical works that are alluded to in the work?

Essay Topic 2

Identify and discuss three examples of irony in Bridge of Clay. What is an example of verbal irony related through character dialogue? How does situational irony apply in the story? What is an example of dramatic irony and to what purpose is it used?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of light in Bridge of Clay. How does the author describe the light in Australia? In what instances is the brightness of the sun used symbolically? What does it represent?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 703 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample