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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 is the theory behind people with more of a streamlined skull?

2. What does Princess Charlotte design after the death of her husband, Prince Richard?

3. Who was head of the English Department at Ilium High School who had proposed marriage to Mary Hepburn?

4. At what age did James Wait become a sire?

5. Who bathes the Captain every day and shampoos and combs his beard and hair?

Short Essay Questions

1. How many times has the narrator seen the blue tunnel in to the Afterlife? Where has he seen it appear?

2. In Book 2: Chapter 12, what does the narrator suggest as a means for Mary Hepburn to keep on living with the Captain for a little while longer?

3. According to the narrator, why do people get hiccups?

4. What is the irony behind the marriage of Mary Kaplan and Willard Flemming in Book 2: Chapter 4?

5. What happens to Kazakh in Chapter 31?

6. Did James Wait ever reproduce? Explain.

7. How is Prince Richard murdered? Who kills him?

8. Who does Akiko name one of her daughters after? Explain.

9. How is the Bahia married to the South American mainland?

10. Does Leon Trout obey the Father's request for him to go into the blue tunnel? Explain.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Book 2: Chapter 7, Leon Trout must face the decision whether to go into the afterlife or stay for a million years to watch humanity evolve. He cannot let go of the unfolding story of humankind, at least not for another million years. Why do you think Leon is given a million years to stay on earth? Do you think there is a limit to the amount of knowledge the Father wants Leon to have? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Mandarax speaks in quotes. Examine three specific quotes Mandarax uses and discuss the impact of these quotes on the novel.

Essay Topic 3

An important theme to the novel is that "human perception creates and perpetrates suffering." Use specific reasons and examples from the text that support this theme.

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This section contains 616 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample