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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Dillard finally reconcile a kind, loving creator with the carnage she observes in the natural world?

2. In Chapter 9 Dillard is uneasy and hears what seems to be gunshots. What did she actually hear?

3. What does Dillard say is the driving force after reproduction in the animal kingdom?

4. In Chapter 13, the author is beginning to find a balance in her thinking about nature. What is that balance?

5. How does a young muskrat get fed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The present is fleet. One barely glimpses it, and it is gone, Dillard writes. What is the present, according to the author? Why try to stay in it? How does the present compare to the past or the future? Have you ever tried to stay in the moment? Describe one situation when the author tried to stay in the now. Do you think it's possible to stay just in the now? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about praying mantis. Include Dillard's observations, her knowledge from other sources, her reactions and feeling towards praying mantis and any beliefs she may have formed because of her thoughts on this insect.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss "literal" seeing and "figurative" seeing as Dillard uses them. Give examples of each. How do these two terms relate to your life?

(see the answer keys)

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