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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 is Nobby's landlady's name?
2. What time of year is it when the men first come up with the plan to buy a house?
3. Who arrives at the lunch area in a rowboat?
4. On page 81, what description of his own demeanor does Bat give when he is persuading Syl to let him be the one to go into the final hotel to ask for a room?
5. Who are the two men that wait for Harry outside the phone booth?
Short Essay Questions
1. What about the timing of the mens' plan to buy a house makes the narrator think they were never serious to begin with?
2. Who are the Legion of Mary sisters, and what do they want from Jean?
3. Describe Bat's reaction to Matilda's suggestion about the excursion.
4. When the friends come to Bat's apartment to ask for their money back, what does the narrator mean when he says that Bat "shake the lists as if they was cheques" (60)?
5. What evidence is there that Gallows understands Bat's intentions during the search for the hotel?
6. What does Syl spend most of his free time doing in the summer, and why does it seem to be a wasted effort?
7. What details does the narrator give that demonstrate how eager people are to go on the excursion?
8. How does Bat manipulate the situation so that he is the one who ends up with Pat?
9. What does Poor do to disrupt the excursion, and why does he do it?
10. Explain Matilda's "excursion" plan.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Most of The Housing Lark is set in Brixton, but one important section of the novel takes place in Hampton Court, in Richmond upon Thames. Why remove some of the novel's action to this specific place? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the significance of setting in this passage. Consider the place's history and its cultural significance to the English as well as its juxtaposition with the carnivalesque excursion and the interpretation of the place by the book's characters. Consider why it is referred to as "Hamdon Court" throughout the text--including by the narrator. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay explicating the possible purposes of the parallels between techniques used in The Housing Lark and in calypso music. Show what these parallels are, providing evidence for the similarities you identify. Then, explain how these parallels support meaning--for instance, by creating atmosphere and conveying ideas. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
Essay Topic 3
Do some research on portrayals of West Indians in the literature and culture of Britain prior to the 1970's. Write an essay that places The Housing Lark within this context, making and defending a claim about whether or not The Housing Lark functions as an act of opposition to the dominant culture in this time and place. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and cite all sources in MLA format.
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This section contains 1,156 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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