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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. The narrator believes she is a successful children's book illustrator because

2. At the end of the chapter the narrator decides

3. Because Anna is angry with him, David comments on

4. At the end of the chapter, the author compares an unborn child to

5. On the lake the narrator feels a sense of

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the experience the narrator has with her mother.

2. What is the narrator's occupation?

3. Why does the narrator believe there are rules for what she can and cannot do on the island?

4. What were the narrator's experiences with religion as a child?

5. What change has occurred in the narrator's views on fishing and hunting?

6. What images or ideas related to identity do we get in the beginning of the novel?

7. What change can be observed in the narrator at the start of the chapter?

8. Why does the narrator assume the old town priest is dead?

9. Why do David and Joe want to avoid the narrator's search for her father.

10. What is the narrator's revelation about Christ?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following quote by Rainer Maria Rilke: "Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connection with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle." Write an essay in which you defend, refute, or qualify Rilke's statement, using Atwood's novel as the basis for your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the statement, "Man masters nature not by force but by understanding." Write an essay in which you defend, refute, or qualify this statement using Atwood's novel as the basis for your argument.

Essay Topic 3

The three settings frequently mentioned in the novel--the city, the town, and the island--all carry different connotations. Considering the connotations of each, write an essay in which you explore the meaning of each setting and its significance to the narrator's development.

(see the answer keys)

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