View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Ann decide to hide from a visitor?

2. What had the team just completed before the war?

3. From where is the pond fed?

4. After four days, what does Loomis' temperature mean?

5. In what month does the book open?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Ann think someone is coming to her valley?

2. Who is the stranger and what was his job before the war?

3. How does Loomis manage to survive on his long journey walking from New York?

4. How does Ann get the tractor running and what planting decision does she make?

5. Explain why Ann's parents left her home when they left to discover the effects of the war?

6. What does Ann decide to do to make cooking easier in the house?

7. Why is the valley special?

8. What does the man do with his Geiger counter and then what terrible error does he make?

9. What does Ann hear Loomis saying in his dreams and what does Ann think about what she hears?

10. What happens that convinces Ann that the man knows nothing about farm life and what is her response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Z for Zachariah, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements (They may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

In most fiction, readers would like all the loose ends to be neatly "tied up." Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Z for Zachariah is successful as an apocalyptic novel? Why or why not?

2. What about this book would motivate you to read another apocalyptic novel? What would discourage you from doing so?

3. Were all the "loose ends" satisfactorily settled for you? Why or why not?

4. Do you think that a reader expects that not all loose ends are tied up in a book in a series, unless it's the last book?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. Discuss five literary devices that occur in Z for Zachariah and how they are used. Are they effective? Do they add or detract from the reading of the book? Why or why not. Some possible techniques: Allusion, connotation, denouement, dialogue, flashback, figurative language, motif, metaphor, narrator, point of view, simile, mood, and puns.

2. What do you think are the reasons students are encouraged to understand literary devices? Do you think an understanding of the structure of a work of fiction enhances the reading experience? Why or why not?

3. Do you think authors make a conscious effort to include literary devices into their writing? Discuss your answer. Do you think it would be difficult to consciously create metaphor, simile, puns, etc...? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,088 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample