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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 happens at 9:00?

2. What news just reached Mars about Earth in this chapter?

3. Where did the war tthat Father Peregrine discussed with the proprietor of the luggage store take place?

4. What do the two men believe will happen to the hundred thousand people who are due to arrive on Mars in the next few weeks?

5. By 2026 in this chapter, how long has it been since the Great War on Earth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do you think LaFarge hears in the backyard and why does he bolt the door and not explore the noise?

2. What is ironic about the way the real Garrett and the house itself are destroyed? What does Stendahl tell Garrett about his demise?

3. Why does LaFarge continually question Tom about his presence and what happens when he does?

4. What do the new inhabitants of Mars call the elderly people who have begun to come to Mars?

5. Why does Walter Gripp suddenly try calling the largest beauty salon on Mars?

6. How does Timothy recognize that his family is not really on a vacation?

7. What leads Elma, Sam's wife, to tell him that it might be another million years until Sam has a customer at his hotdog stand?

8. Why does Hathaway believe he and his family are going to be rescued and how long as he been waiting to be rescued?

9. Why do Sam and his wife escape into the sand ship and what leads them to return to their hotdog stand?

10. What does the family do to keep warm on its first night on Mars and what does it symbolize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of the chapter called Usher II which is directly related to Edgar Allen Poe? Is it important that it be included? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Describe how the novel ends with optimism and vision toward the future. How do you believe life will be different now for the Willamses and all future inhabitants of Mars?

Essay Topic 3

Which chapters do you believe provided pivotal points which were necessary to the plot development of the book? In what ways were they pivotal? Include specific examples and supporting details.

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