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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 kind of beast does the narrator begin to think she might be?

2. What happens to Zhong Ren in Part III?

3. How often do the prime beasts gather to propagate?

4. How does the narrator refer to herself in front of Zhong Liang?

5. Who is about to buy a heartsick beast in Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of relationship does the narrator have with Fei Fei in Part III?

2. Why does the narrator tell Zhong Liang her stories have to be fairly simple?

3. What theory does the narrator hatch about her own history with prime beasts?

4. What happens to Charley that the narrator feels responsible for?

5. What is the highest calling of the flourishing beast?

6. How does Lucia's mother feel when Lucia wants her heartsick beast to look like the narrator?

7. Why are heartsick beasts inaccessible to most people?

8. How does the narrator realize she herself is a heartsick beast?

9. What connection does the narrator have to Methuselah?

10. What do impasse beasts feed on?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Ge describe and explore the sacrifices that parents make for their offspring through different characters and at different points in this novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Ge chose to have sorrowful beasts die if they smile, and what is the symbolism behind this mechanism? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why is the narrator so fascinated with the returning beasts, in particular, and how do returning beasts represent the key to her unlocking all her major questions about the strange beasts? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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