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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 15, "We Explore Inland," what use does the narrator say the family can find for fuller's earth?

2. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what problem does the narrator solve at Rock House?

3. Why does the narrator think that it is a good idea to keep rabbits on Whale Island?

4. In Chapter 12, "Anniversary," what important date does the family celebrate?

5. In Chapter 18, "Repairs and Fortifications," what animals threaten the family's dogs while the boys have them at Woodlands?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what happens to Jack in the swamp?

2. In Chapter 12, "Anniversary," how do Jack and Fritz wake the family, and how do their parents respond?

3. In Chapter 16, "A Winged Steed," what is Elizabeth's first reaction to the ostrich, and what does Jack tell her in reply?

4. In Chapter 11, "Our Estates," what new source of potential danger does the family discover, and what do they decide to do about it?

5. In Chapter 17, "Bounty and Peril," when the boys return from hunting, what does Jack say about hunting with the ostrich, and what is the narrator's reply?

6. In Chapter 13, "Unpleasant Tasks," what improvements are made to the cave house during the winter?

7. In Chapter 16, "A Winged Steed," how do the narrator and his sons succeed in catching an ostrich?

8. In Chapter 18, "Repairs and Fortifications," what do the boys find has happened at Prospect Hill, and what is their response?

9. In Chapter 14, "A Casualty," when the sea turtle is towing the pinnace, what do the boys call the narrator, and how does he respond?

10. At the end of Chapter 18, "Repairs and Fortifications," what construction of Fritz's planning does the family finally find time to work on, and what are the details of its construction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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 explore the sometimes conflicting attitudes the book expresses toward the usefulness of book learning. Does the narrator believe that the kind of education you can get from books is always valuable, or only valuable under certain circumstances? Use specific textual evidence to support your claims.

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