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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 blocks does Isaac live from the beach?

2. What is Isaac sent to Arkansas to study?

3. What is the name of Captain Halsey's ship?

4. Who is Willis Moore?

5. What is the heart of the weather service?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the photograph taken of Isaac by New Orleans photographer.

2. What is the butterfly effect?

3. Why is the final payment on the piano a significant accomplishment to Louisa Rollfing?

4. What is the difference between Isaac and Joseph's points of view in the early morning hours of September 8?

5. What kind of man does the narrator describe Isaac to be?

6. What characteristics do they know in 1900 that all hurricanes have in common?

7. What is unusual about the summer of 1900 across the world?

8. How was weather recorded before the creation of the weather service?

9. How does Moore treat the weather forecasting being done in Cuba?

10. What is the purpose of the eighteen-page letter that William Stockman sends to Col. Dunwoody?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the story, people make decisions that turn about to be the difference between life and death. Mr. Poe and the lighthouse is good example of this. Discuss four specific examples of this in book and the larger truth these decisions indicate about how people react in extreme danger.

Essay Topic 2

How does Erik Larson present a more nuanced look at the Galveston hurricane than the one that is contained in the National Archives? What is the critical difference between the two?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the use of descriptive and figurative language used throughout the story and the effect they have on the narrative.

(see the answer keys)

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