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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 the first structure that the family lives in?

2. How does the narrator get the first rope over the branch of the tree that they want to build their home in?

3. In Chapter 9, "A Growing Menagerie," what important substance does Fritz discover a supply of?

4. What dangerous predator does Fritz shoot near their new home in the grove of trees?

5. Who is the original author of The Swiss Family Robinson?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. In Chapter 8, "The Pinnace," what has Elizabeth been doing while most of the family works on the pinnace, and what does she want the family to do next?

5. 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?

6. In Chapter 4, "Back to the Wreck," how does Elizabeth react when Jack and Ernest fail to shoot the birds when they are traveling through the tall grass?

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

8. Describe the incident at the bridge in Chapter 7, "Bread," when the narrator and Fritz are surprised by Jack and Ernest.

9. When Fritz and the narrator feel lonely for other people, what does the narrator tell Fritz?

10. How does the family observe their first Sabbath together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate the ending of this book; how satisfying is the ending, and why? Use specific textual evidence as you make a case for or against the ending of the story.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

This book was originally composed as a series of stories and then later compiled into a novel. Write an essay in which you analyze the impact this origin has had on the book's overall structure and effect on the reader.

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