View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does each man finally catch a glimpse of after constructing the sail?

2. What does the captain use to get rid of their intruders?

3. Who first spots a lighthouse?

4. What will the men need in order to reach the shore if the boat overturns?

5. Where are these four men returning from?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens after the sail is constructed, and how do the four men feel about it?

2. Why is the correspondent unable to see the lighthouse?

3. How does the captain try to calm the other three men?

4. What are the four men doing in Part 5?

5. How does the correspondent feel about the recalled story now?

6. What role do the seagulls play in Part 2?

7. What does the correspondent think about nature in Part 7?

8. What do the oiler and correspondent take turns doing, and how?

9. What thoughts do the four men keep to themselves?

10. How did the correspondent feel about the recalled story when he read it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the relationship between the four men affect the story's plot?

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the main themes in this story (false hope, man versus nature, etc.) and detail its recurrences throughout the story. What does it add to the story? How does it affect the difference characters?

Essay Topic 3

Which character do you view as the protagonist, and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 498 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample