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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. In the recurring dreams Claire has in which she is hiding her son, where does she keep him hidden?

2. Why are the Vessels given blindfolds as they go into labor?

3. How many months after his birth does Claire teach her son to say her name aloud?

4. When Jeanette mentions that everyone liked her father, she says he had been quiet, but what?

5. What keeps Claire from asking the boat worker the questions she would like to ask him about Elsewhere?

Short Essay Questions

1. Upon finally seeing Marie on the boat, what questions arise in Claire's mind?

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

3. When Claire declares that she hates her life, what aspects of her life does she say she despises?

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. What sets the birth of Claire's Product apart from those of the other Birthmothers in her dormitory?

7. What reason does the narrator give for all of the Fish Hatchery workers being fond of the director, Dimitri?

8. What is the consequence of Claire's Task being different from those of the other Birthmothers?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the themes of secrecy and control are interwoven within Lois Lowry's novel Son.

Essay Topic 2

Many of the novel's characters undergo experiences that radically transform their lives, taking them far away from the expectations they have previously held. Analyze at least three characters' transformative experiences, the effects these events have on their lives, their methods for dealing with these changes, and ultimately, the author's purpose for including these types of disparities between expectation and reality.

Essay Topic 3

Oftentimes in Western culture, volunteerism is looked at in terms of only helping those in need, but Lois Lowry's novel Son seems to put forth the proposition that service to others can also be a means to the provider's own personal happiness. Find examples within the novel Son that prove this conclusion regarding the author's message about service to others and discuss the message's overall effect on the reader.

(see the answer keys)

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