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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 description of the tourists who visit the town implies

2. The narrator believes Joe first liked her because

3. The narrator decides her childhood was a good one because

4. David and Anna seem to communicate by

5. At the start of the chapter, the narrator resolves

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator bothered by the new road, and the ease with which she is able to arrive at her destination?

2. Why is the narrator upset with her parents?

3. Why does the narrator destroy the contents of the cabin?

4. What does the narrator reveal about the lake and river?

5. In what way is Anna like "a burned leech?"

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

7. How does David feel about Americans?

8. Both of the childhood rhymes mentioned in the chapter have to do with what subject? Why are they important?

9. What does the dead heron represent for the narrator?

10. What is significant about the fact that the others have locked the narrator out of the cabin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator of Atwood's novel struggles with her own humanity, preferring to consider herself an animal. Write an essay in which you define both "human" and "animal" according to the narrator, using the text as support for your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the Canadian wilderness in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing. How does the wilderness represent the narrator's a) past, b) struggles or c) both. Create an argument in which you support points a, b, or c.

Essay Topic 3

The narrator describes one part of herself as "missing." What other instances in the book suggest that something or someone is "missing," and what is significant about this term? Discuss the connotations of the word and a possible message Atwood might reveal through the concept of "missing" people, places, or things.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 850 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample