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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 do Cruso and Friday work on everyday, when Susan first arrives on the island?

2. How does Susan say that Cruso came to be stranded, in Part One?

3. What does Susan believe that being on the island is?

4. Why do Friday's feet bleed in Part One?

5. Who cares for the person (or persons) who falls after Susan has been on the island for one year?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Cruso's appearance.

2. Why is the lizard that Susan finds important?

3. How does the Captain of the Hobart react to Susan's story of being a castaway on the island?

4. Describe Cruso's health.

5. How does Friday feel about leaving the island?

6. How does Cruso feel about leaving the island?

7. How does Susan feel about Friday when they first meet?

8. Why do Cruso and Friday work on the terraces?

9. Describe the events that lead in the main characters' escape from the island.

10. Why does Susan believe that she is on the island?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The relationship between language and power is evident in the way the novel is structured and in the characters that appear in the story. Select one instance for each and analyze:

1) How the spoken word is related to power.

2) How the written word is related to power.

3) How the structure of the novel itself illustrates the link between language and power.

Essay Topic 2

Gender roles, both on the island and off, impact how Susan is treated as well as her actions.

1) Compare and contrast how Susan's actions with Cruso and Mr. Foe are impacted by expectations of her role as a woman.

2) Explain how gender expectations in her society impact the writing of Susan's story by herself and Mr. Foe.

3) How are gender roles followed, and broken, in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The theme of Foe is dependent on another novel: Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe. Analyze the literary technique used by J.M. Coetzee to create a novel entirely based on the existence of a novel that exists outside of the story being told.

(see the answer keys)

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