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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. How many dollars was the thief going to get for the Vermeer painting?

2. What do Petra and Calder wonder about Mrs. Sharpe?

3. About what does Mrs. Sharpe seem pleased?

4. Where do the students find many objects that resemble objects in Vermeer paintings?

5. Where do Petra and Calder see Mrs. Sharpe again?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is chasing Petra and Calder and what happens?

2. How do Petra and Calder manage to have access to some of the hidden areas of the school?

3. What occurs on the visit Petra and Calder make to the hospital to visit Mrs. Sharpe?

4. What do Petra and Calder learn on the evening news?

5. Who do Petra and Calder see on their way to school and what does she give them?

6. What happens to Ms. Hussey in Chapter Fifteen?

7. How is Ms. Hussey's class metamorphosing?

8. What is significant about the number twelve?

9. What happens when Petra and Calder have tea with Mrs. Sharpe?

10. What does the letter from Tommy say and how do Petra and Calder help?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many readers of fiction place themselves in the position of one character, wondering if they would do the same thing as that character. 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 "Chasing Vermeer" help a reader to know him/herself? Do you find yourself reflecting on your own character and abilities when reading Chasing Vermeer? Why or why not.

3. Choose one specific incident in "Chasing Vermeer" to discuss and compare one of the characters' response to how you think you would respond.

Essay Topic 2

Lo! is a book full of unexplained events. The clippings in this book come from newspapers from all over the world and include hundreds of stories of bizarre events. The majority of these events are of living animals falling out of the sky. Charles Fort, the author of the book, believes that people take what happens around them and then make these often odd and unlikely events fit into something they can understand, rather than taking what actually happens and trying to figure out why it has happened.

1. Do you think a bizarre event can always be explained by science, even if the knowledge is not available in the present time? Why or why not? Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

2. Making something you see into something your mind understands or expects is a common phenomenon. For example, we might see "waht" but read "what". Discuss an incident in "Chasing Vermeer" in which one of the characters saw an event and decided to interpret that event based on what the character wanted to find or know. Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

3. Explain, in depth, how reading Lo! changed Petra and Calder's perception of the world. Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

1. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in "Chasing Vermeer".

2. Trace and analyze one major theme of "Chasing Vermeer". How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

3. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of "Chasing Vermeer". How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

(see the answer keys)

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