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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 does Tom recount as his reason for punching Todd Newbury?

2. Where do Tom and Dr. Lowenstein go the night after their initial meeting?

3. What is it about Henry Wingo that is difficult for Tom to reconcile?

4. Tom's story is set against the backdrop of which war?

5. What transformation occurs in Henry when he is on his shrimping boat?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lila react to the news of Tom's actions against Todd?

2. How does Lila react to Henry's buying a tiger?

3. How has coaching Bernard helped Tom?

4. How would you describe Lila Wingo?

5. What is the topic of Savannah's poetry?

6. Why does Tom admit to hating both men and women equally?

7. How do the Wingo children get revenge on the Newburys?

8. What kind of family does the Prologue portray?

9. How does Lila feel about Henry's profession as a shrimper?

10. Why doesn't Lila want the children to tell their father about the man called "Callanwolde"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In 1906, George Santayana penned the famous line, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" (from "The Life of Reason"). Does Conroy's novel support or refute this assertion?

Write a critical lens essay in which you interpret Santayana's quote, agree or disagree with the quotation as you have interpreted it, and provide evidence in the form of specific literary techniques from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

A theme and concern among many Southern writers is the collapse of the "Old South." William Faulkner, for example, dealt with this issue numerous times in his novels and short stories. Pat Conroy also seems to be making a statement about the South and its destruction through the traumatic events of the Wingo children.

Write a thematic essay in which you trace Conroy's treatment of the South and its collapse throughout the novel. Some questions to consider are: What seems to be the author's view of the South? How does he represent the South throughout his narrative? Does the end of the novel seem indicative of a resurrection of the Old South or are the traditions and ways of the past lost forever in the wake of progress and development?

Essay Topic 3

While the novel contains Tom's narrative of his family history, the title of the novel is based on a poem written by Savannah. Discuss the significance of the novel's title. Who is the Prince of Tides? Support your answer with specific examples and reasoning from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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