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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. Who is the Captain addressing when he shouts, "Welcome to 'the Nature Cruise of the Century'!"

2. Who said: "Progress has been much more general than retrogression."

3. Who is Orlon?

4. Who finds himself posing as a protector of children?

5. Where did the narrator's mom take him as a child that his father did not approve of?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the cancellation of "the Nature Cruise of the Century" mean to everyone in the bus in front of the Hotel El Dorado?

2. Why does Mary Hepburn like James Wait immediately?

3. What happens to Kazakh in Chapter 31?

4. Did James Wait ever reproduce? Explain.

5. Why does James Wait tell Mary Hepburn to call him by his first name? By what name does Mary call James?

6. Why does Siegfried von Kleist dance in Chapter 37?

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

8. How does the narrator write this story?

9. How does Quezeda feed his brain's thirst for self-esteem and alcohol?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mental illness is a disorder characterized by disturbances in a person's thoughts, emotions, or behavior. Compare and contrast the views of mental illness as seen in the novel to modern day society. Use at least three examples from the novel to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The New York Times Book Review claims that "Vonnegut is a postmodern Mark Twain." Do you agree with this statement? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Theories of how animals landed on the Galapagos Islands vary from transportation via rafts to religious phenomena. Discuss at least three theories revealed in the text as to how animals landed on the Islands; to what extent can these theories be proven? Explain.

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This section contains 545 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample