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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 people take refuge in the Cline house during the storm?

2. How many children are in the orphanage at the time of the storm?

3. How long has John Blagden been working in Galveston before the hurricane?

4. What national disaster had the highest death toll before the Galveston hurricane?

5. How many men are eating at Ritter's Cafe and Saloon when the roof falls?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Louise Hopkins' mother do when the water started to rise?

2. What is the first event that causes Galveston residents to begin to take the storm seriously?

3. How does Isaac handle Moore's lies and distortion of the truth about how the Weather Bureau handled the hurricane?

4. What does Dr. Young experience as darkness falls on Galveston?

5. What does Isaac claim that he did after observing conditions on the beach the morning of the storm?

6. What are some of the misconceptions that Isaac and his colleagues have about hurricanes?

7. What is Captain Simmons experiencing on the Pensacola as the storm intensifies?

8. How does Isaac write his official report about the hurricane?

9. Why does Joseph want his telegram to the U.S. Weather Bureau chief be kept completely confidential?

10. How does Galveston handle the overwhelming number of dead bodies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Isaac said this in relation to deciding on a career: "I then made up my mind that I would seek some field where I could tell big stories and tell the truth." Discuss what he means by this as well as whether he accomplished this goal. What is prophetic about this quote in relation to the hurricane?

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This section contains 910 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample