|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Which member of the settlement is an aspiring medical student?
2. Why, according to Caroline in Chapter 12, can't Bob and Carmen move to a new settlement site anytime soon?
3. Who nominates Caroline to be the group's first mayor in Chapter 8?
4. What change had been made to guard duty in Rod's absence, as described in Chapter 13?
5. What happens to Grant near the end of Chapter 13?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why do Bob and Carmen ask to wait a day when their friends consider abandoning Grant's rule and forming a new colony?
2. Who stands up for Bob and Carmen during their wedding ceremony?
3. Why, according to Caroline, is Carmen unable to relocate to a new place?
4. A strange migration of what creatures threatens the students' settlement?
5. In Chapter 10, why is Caroline appointed historian for the settlement?
6. What do Grant and Rod build in an attempt to protect their camp from the stampeding animals?
7. Who finally convinces Rod to return home to Earth?
8. What do Rod and Roy discover, as far downstream as they can go?
9. Where does Rod think the students should move their colony?
10. Why do some students in the settlement start to feel disenchanted with Grant's leadership?
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Why do Deacon Matson and Helen believe that students are better off not carrying guns during their final exam on an unknown planet? How is their philosophy proved correct or incorrect as the novel progresses? How does this relate to Heinlein's attitude toward violence?
Essay Topic 2
Describe the family dynamics of the Walker family, as depicted early in the novel. Why do Rod's parents conceal from him the fact that Rod's father is terminally ill and the fact that both of Rod's parents plan to be frozen for twenty years in the hope that a cure will be found? How do the family dynamics change by the final chapter, as a result of Rod's new life experiences and the passage of time?
Essay Topic 3
What is the primary role of Jimmy in the novel? Is his comic relief a comfort to the other students? How does the character of Jimmy grow from the beginning of the novel, when he nearly skips the final survival exam due to fear, to the end of the novel, when he is a solid husband and father?
This section contains 698 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)