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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 do George and Lydia notice about the screams?

2. What has happened to the parents at the end of the story?

3. Dinner is being prepared for a family of ________.

4. When Lydia sits down in the chair, what does it do?

5. Who is the author of The Veldt?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the nursery change once George and Lydia enter?

2. Explain Dr.McClean’s comment that children prefer santas over scrooges.

3. Why do George and Lydia suppose that they cannot change the nursery?

4. What do the vultures in the African veldt scene indicate?

5. How does Lydia propose to change her feelings of worthlessness?

6. Explain how the nursery conjures the African veldt.

7. What does Lydia notice about George as well?

8. What do they see when they all walk into the nursery together so that George can prove Africa is in there?

9. Lydia says about the nursery: “It’s supposed to help them work off their neuroses in a healthful way.” What does this mean? Has it worked?

10. Explain the following quote: “And again George Hadley was filled with admiration for the mechanical genius who had conceived this room. A miracle of efficiency selling for an absurdly low price. Every home should have one.”

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Both George and Lydia doubt themselves as parents throughout the short story.

Discuss three incidences in The Veldt where either George or Lydia seems unsure in their parenting decision. What is the result of this insecurity? Use examples from the text to illustrate the incidences.

Essay Topic 2

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels.

Compare and contrast the characters of George and Lydia. How do they react differently to the children? To the nursery? How are their reactions similar? How do they view their lives as a family? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.?

Essay Topic 3

The Veldt belongs to the science fiction genre.

Define the literary term "genre" and name three other genres in addition to the science fiction genre. What are commonalities between science fiction novels and stories? What are the advantages and disadvantages of assigning a genre to a novel or short story? What do you think is the difference between a science fiction and a historical novel or mystery?

(see the answer keys)

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