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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. When Claire shows up again at the Nurturing Center, what reason is she given for being turned away?

2. What class had Claire and Sophia been in together at school?

3. For what purpose does the male Nurturer find out the name of Claire's infant son?

4. Claire and Sophia cannot go into the room housing the youngest Newchildren because what condition is not met?

5. What occasion had prompted the community to perform the Ceremony of Loss a few years before the events of the narrative?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Claire so terrified when she is first told that she has been decertified as a Vessel?

2. How does Claire feel about her work at the Fish Hatchery?

3. Why does Jeanette, one of the Fish Hatchery workers, feel surprise when the name Paul is given to one of the Newchildren at the Ceremony?

4. How does Claire feel about the river that borders the community?

5. How do the Nurturers respond to Claire's query asking if it would be alright if she visited the Nurturing Center again?

6. What does Claire realize during breakfast one day when she sees the other Fish Hatchery workers cleaning up their tables and getting ready to begin work?

7. What reason does Sophia provide for parental units wanting to receive their assigned children once they are a little older, rather than when they are infants?

8. What criterion does Claire give regarding how the Fish Hatchery had been chosen as her workplace and how does the criterion differ from others who work at the Fish Hatchery alongside her?

9. What change does Claire see in Jonas between the time she sees him racing another boy on his bicycle and the time she sees him walking alone along the river?

10. For what reason are the Nurturers considering keeping Claire's son at the center for another year before assigning him to a parental unit?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of the novel's title and of the repeated references to sons throughout the narrative. What is the author's purpose in including the motif of male children, both in the title and throughout the narrative of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the two maternal characters within the narrative: Alys of the village and Claire's female parental unit of the community. What is the author's message regarding motherhood?

Essay Topic 3

Often within literature, characters with disabilities are presented as being wholly innocent, good, and infallible. Lois Lowry does not fall prey to these generalities, instead depicting flaws and problems in the lives of both the abled and the disabled. Analyze the author's depiction of Einar, analyzing the characterization methods she uses to present his character and stating her purpose in doing so.

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