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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 flowers does Ann pick and put in Loomis' bedroom?

2. Where does Ann go the next morning after Loomis was delirious?

3. Why does Ann decide to kill one of the older hens?

4. What does Mr. Loomis call the table set for dinner by his bedside?

5. How does Loomis get supplies while Ann is hiding out before he shot her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ann discover about the tractor, and what does she do?

2. How does Mr. Loomis express his anger and what does Ann do?

3. What happens when Ann goes back to the farm to speak to Mr. Loomis and what does Ann realize?

4. How has Mr. Loomis' illness progressed in Chapter 11, and what does he talk about while delirious?

5. What does Ann finally piece together about Edward and Loomis?

6. Why does Mr. Loomis frighten Ann as she is playing the piano?

7. What do Ann and Mr. Loomis argue about concerning the crops?

8. How is Mr. Loomis using Faro?

9. What does Ann bring into the house as Mr. Loomis is getting better?

10. What do Loomis and Ann discuss concerning the fertilizer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This novel was written in the Seventies, a short time after the Bay of Pigs scare that left many Americans afraid of a nuclear attack. This novel takes place some years after a week long war that left most of the country devastated not only by nuclear fallout, but also nerve gases and other biological weapons. Discuss the following:

1. Research and write an informative essay about the fear of nuclear war during the 1960s. Why were people so afraid of the possibility of a nuclear war? What did countries do to prevent such a happening? Was there any civil preparedness for such an event? Is it realistic to prepare for something such as a nuclear war?

2. Do you think Ann's family was wise to have gone off from the safety of their valley so soon after the end of what they were fairly sure was a nuclear war?

3. Was it irresponsible of Ann's parents to leave her and her brother (who was supposed to stay) at the ages of 15 and 16 alone while they went out gathering information?

4. How likely is it that the scenario of the valley escaping contamination would actually happen?

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

Z for Zachariah could be said to be a "bildungsroman" of Ann, the main character. Discuss the following:

1. Define the concepts "bildungsroman" and "coming of age."

2. Thoroughly trace and analyze Z for Zachariah as a bildungsroman of Ann. Give specific examples. What does Ann learn? How has she changed? Is the change for the better?

3. Do you think young people in our modern culture go through a coming of age period? Do you think the concept of "coming of age" is inherent in the human experience? Why or why not?

4. Do you think you have lived through a "coming of age" period in your own life? Discuss as thoroughly as you willing to share.

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