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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. Why does Victor warn VJ away from the river?

2. What indicator is nearly out of the normal range on VJ's personality test?

3. Why did Victor use two of the embryos on his employees' wives?

4. How were Mark, Maurice, and VJ conceived?

5. Does Marsha trust the accuracy of the psychological tests of VJ?

Short Essay Questions

1. What might VJ's motivation be for how he performed during the race with Victor?

2. What is the company's conflict with George Gephardt?

3. What interrupts Marsha and Victor at the end of Chapter 6?

4. What is Victor's emotional reaction to the deleted files?

5. What does VJ do at Victor's computer?

6. How does Sharon Carver try to get her job back?

7. What does William Hurst argue with Victor about?

8. How do Victor's test results on Mark and Maurice compare to VJ's test results?

9. How does Victor Frank act during the delivery of the baby?

10. What has happened to Maurice, and how does Victor react?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss secretiveness in the novel.

1) What secrets does VJ keep in the novel? Why does VJ keep secrets? Why don't his parents realize what he's doing?

2) What secrets does Victor keep in the novel? Why does he keep these secrets? What would Victor lose or gain by making his discoveries public and being more open about his research?

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the ending of the novel.

1) Why does Victor choose to kill himself in the process of killing VJ? How is this decision appropriate or inappropriate?

2) Does VJ need to be killed? Is a violent death the best, or only, solution to the problem?

3) How is the manner of VJ's death appropriate to the story? What is the author trying to communicate through the manner of VJ's death?

4) What does the epilogue add to the novel? Why does the author introduce another super-intelligent child at the end of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss hubris in the novel.

1) In what ways is Victor taking on the role of a god? Do his actions reflect hubris? Why or why not?

2) How does VJ mimic Victor in his genetic work? Does VJ also show hubris? Does VJ consider himself a kind of god?

3) What is the line between scientific advancement and hubris? How can it be judged when science is going too far? How does the novel address these issues?

(see the answer keys)

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