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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. Before the final attack, what does Nat mistake the swarm of gulls as?

2. With each attack, what has changed about the birds?

3. What is the name of the farmhand killed on the Trigg farm?

4. After the third attack, what emotion overcomes Nat?

5. What is Nat doing as the story comes to a close?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the radio music change during the attacks, and what does this signify?

2. How does Nat use the bird corpses to reinforce his barricades, and how does he feel about this?

3. Why does Nat decide to take his family with him to the Trigg farm in search of supplies?

4. How have the farm animals, on both the Hocken and Trigg properties, been affected by the attacks?

5. What does Nat realize is the force behind the bird attacks, and what does this mean to his survival planning?

6. What does Mrs. Hocken chide Johnny about during dinner in the story’s final section, and why is this ironic?

7. What is Nat doing as the story comes to a close?

8. Who is Jim, and how was he killed?

9. How does the Hocken family respond to the six o’clock news announcement?

10. Why does silence fill the Hocken house after the third attack, and what does this mean?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the initial response toward the bird attacks by the authorities? Why do they respond in the way that they do? What suggestions does Nat have for dealing with the birds? Are the birds ever dealt with? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

How does Nat's relationship with his wife and family differ both before and after the attack of the birds? Why is this so?

Essay Topic 3

Symbolism is an important element of "The Birds." Find three symbolic elements, incidents, or objects in the story. Explain how the elements are symbolic and why they are important.

(see the answer keys)

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