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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 Chapter 9, "A Growing Menagerie," what unusual food does the narrator convince Fritz to try?

2. What do they name the pet monkey?

3. What do they make dog armor from?

4. On their first day on the island, what creature attacks Jack in an inlet of the bay?

5. What does Jack offer to make for the dogs?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 7, "Bread," what happens as a result of Ernest's discovery of manioc root?

2. What jobs does Elizabeth take on from the time of the shipwreck onward?

3. How does the family end up on a deserted island?

4. In Chapter 7, "Bread," what is convenient about Jack's discovery of clay?

5. In Chapter 8, "The Pinnace," what do Elizabeth and the narrator disagree about, and what is the outcome of their disagreement?

6. When the narrator and Fritz go exploring for the first time and are walking through the grass, what animal surprises them, and how do they react?

7. When the narrator wakes Ernest early, what is his reasoning, and how does Ernest respond?

8. In Chapter 8, "The Pinnace," what process do the narrator and his sons follow as they assemble and launch the new boat?

9. When the narrator finally agrees to build a treehouse, what does he say he will do with their original camping site?

10. When the children are told of the decision to move to the grove of trees, what is their response and what is it an allusion to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you answer the following questions--be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your claims and to cite in MLA format any outside resources you use in your essay: What is "Christian husbandry," and in what way does the novel reflect the principles of Christian husbandry?

Essay Topic 2

The island on which the family is shipwrecked has an astonishing capacity to support life. At one point, the children allude to the Biblical "Promised Land" (57). Write an essay in which you analyze the religious significance of the island as a "Promised Land." What does this phrase mean to Christians, and what additional meaning did it have during a time of colonial expansion? What does it likely signify about the island and the relationship of the family to their God? What does it signify about Europeans and their relationship to God?

Essay Topic 3

Readers often react negatively to the variety of animal-based foods that the family eats while on the island. How much of this reaction is cultural? Write an essay in which you discuss the likely response of a European audience of the early nineteenth century, using internet research to support your claims about what Europeans of this time were accustomed to eating and what their attitude to novel food sources would likely have been. Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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