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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. Though David catches the fish, the narrator must

2. The narrator has identified two different women in town known as Madame because

3. The name of the film David is making is called

4. What does the narrator feel is her first mistake during her visit to the store?

5. When Paul sees the narrator

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrator's perception of the townspeople toward her.

2. Describe David's view of his marriage.

3. Why does the narrator refuse to believe David and Anna's story about her father?

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

5. What is the narrator's occupation?

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

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

8. What does the narrator believe she sees at the end of the chapter?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Consider the ideas of paths, roads, and travels in Atwood's novel. What do these concrete ideas represent for the narrator, and how do they contribute to Atwood's message?

Essay Topic 3

Andrea Dworking said, "Marriage meant the taking [of a woman by force] was to extend in time, to be not only use of but possession of, or ownership." Write an essay in which you defend or refute this statement based on evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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