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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 7, "Bread," when Jack and Ernest follow the narrator and Fritz to the bay, what message does the narrator give them for his wife?

2. When Fritz suggests that they make a basin at the stream, what material does the narrator say they will need?

3. In Chapter 9, "A Growing Menagerie," why is the narrator pleased to find wax myrtle?

4. What does the narrator decide they need to build before they can build the treehouse?

5. What do they make their swimming belts from?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. When the narrator finds the karatas plant, what does he ask Ernest, and what does his motivation for the question seem to be?

4. 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?

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

6. On the second morning, why are the dogs afraid of Fritz, and how does he win them over?

7. Before they leave the ship, what does the narrator convince Elizabeth to do, and why does she object at first?

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

9. In Chapter 9, "A Growing Menagerie," how does Ernest eventually end up owning the monkey, Knips?

10. What problem occurs when the family tries to launch their barrel boat, and how do they solve it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the novel's narrative voice: how does it characterize the narrator, how would you describe the narrator's language, and how does it impact the reader's experience of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you explain the publication history of this novel, including the effects of its translation into French and later translation into English. How has this book changed over the years, and what is the significance of the changes? 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.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you explain how this novel reflects European knowledge about and attitudes toward non-European lands in the early nineteenth century. 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.

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