View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. As Paul reads in Part 3, who is the son of Cronus?

2. How does Paul feel when he is rushed at by his mother?

3. How is Paul's mother's attempt to help him described?

4. What does Paul do before he answers the doctor?

5. How does Paul consider the questions being asked of him in Part 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The doctor's examination is a crucial turning point in the story, and for Paul.

1) Describe the doctor's personality and characteristics. How do they add to his ability to evaluate Paul accurately?

2) Describe Paul's interpretation of the doctor and his actions. How does he view himself in comparison to the doctor? Why?

3) What is the major discovery that the doctor makes about Paul? How does he make it? Why does the author choose this character to make it, and how is it important to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Why does the author choose snow as the secret that Paul is drawn to? Provide an in-depth analysis of the author's decision and what the snow represents, including its characteristics and the specific ways it is used to display Paul's larger problems.

Essay Topic 3

Explain what Paul's thought process is pertaining to his secret and hiding it from everyone.

1) Why does it become more valuable to him if no one is aware of it? How does he think it elevates him to a superior place? Which events in the story illustrate that the most?

2) What does Paul think would happen if his parents learned about the snow? How does he think they would react, and why is that an integral part in his decision to keep it from them?

3) What is the sacrifice that Paul is willing to make with regard to his parents? How is his rationalization one of the deepest signs of his detachment? What is so disturbing about it, and why is he unable to understand the severity of what he is thinking?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 367 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample