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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 does the schoolboy die that Quick Lamb gives his lunch to in Chapter IV?

2. It is January of what year that the Lambs succeed in driving the competing grocer out of business in Chapter V?

3. What did Sam Pickles’s father do for a living?

4. What is the name of the horse that Sam Pickles starts betting on in Chapter IV?

5. Oriel Lamb describes her father’s remarriage to whom in Chapter III?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the luck of the Pickles family change at the end of Chapter IV?

2. What is the central event that dominates Chapter II? Why is this event important in the story?

3. How are the characters of Lester and Oriel Lamb introduced in Chapter II? What is their family doing when they are introduced?

4. What is revealed about the character of Oriel Lamb in the second half of Chapter III?

5. What is foreshadowed through the character of the black man that appears in Chapter III?

6. What is noteworthy about the narratives of Quick and Fish Lamb in Chapter IV?

7. What can the character of Rose Pickles be seen to represent symbolically in Chapter I?

8. How is Fish’s mental state transformed in Chapter V? What has led to this transformation?

9. How does the Lamb family perceive the concept of “luck,” as seen in the second half of Chapter III? What symbolizes this perception?

10. What is author Tim Winton’s focus in Chapter V? How does this chapter serve the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrative style of the novel. From whose perspective is the first section of the story related from? Is the narrative told from a past or present tense? What are the notable elements of the author’s narrative style? How does the narrative change throughout the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the setting of the novel. Where in Australia are the members of the Pickles family living in Chapter I? What clues in the text indicate the time period in which the story begins? How large do you envision the pub hotel where the Pickle family lives in this chapter? What is this region of Australia like?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Rose Pickles and the narrative focus on Rose in Chapter I. How old is Rose when the novel begins? What is Rose’s relationship like with her brothers and parents? How does Rose’s character evolve throughout the novel?

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