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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. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 1, what is Long John's nickname for Bobby?

2. In the italicized section of Chapter 2, at what age does the girl say that her hallucinations started?

3. In the non-italicized section of Chapter 3, what is Bobby's sister's name?

4. What does the Kid have instead of hands?

5. In the prologue, what color is the girl's dress?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 2, What does the Kid present to the girl?

2. Does Bobby find anything on his search of the cluster of islands?

3. What is Oiler's attitude about his time in Vietnam?

4. Before the girl ends her life in the Wisconsin woods, who comes to see her a final time in her room in Chicago?

5. What are Bobby and Oiler doing off the coast of Mississippi as the non-italicized section of Chapter 1 opens?

6. Where does Bobby move in after taking all his belongings out of his apartment?

7. After talking to Oiler about Venezuela, what does Bobby notice about his apartment?

8. How does the Kid talk? What is the reader's impression of the Kid from the ways he talks and the language that he uses.

9. How does the fire start in Bianca's apartment?

10. What is peculiar about this downed plane?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the structure of each chapter? Why does the author structure the story in the way that he does? How does this structure support the overall feel of the book?

Essay Topic 2

What is your experience of Alicia's conversation with Miss Vivian about the crying babies? What are the different reasons that Alicia and Miss Vivian give for why the babies are crying? Do any of these reasons seem plausible? What do babies represent for humans? What does it mean for babies, who are so vulnerable and innocent to be beset by dangers or be filled with some deep dislike for their surroundings? What do you think the point is of this conversation? Does it have a point? How does it make you feel as a reader?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think of John Sheddan's character? What kind of person is he? What aspect of the author does he represent?

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