Oryx and Crake Multiple Choice Questions

Questions from the Oryx and Crake Passage (Pages 87-88) by Margaret Atwood

1.      The primary effect that the repetition of the word “alone” creates in the following lines: “Now I’m alone…all, all alone. Alone on a wide, wide sea” (lines 1-2) is:

a.       To portray a tone of nostalgia

b.      To demonstrate the speaker’s limited vocabulary

c.       To set up the metaphor of the “wide, wide sea”

d.      To emphasize the isolation of the speaker

e.       To create a mood of relief

2.      What is the implication of the statement: “He feels the need to hear a human voice—a fully human voice” (lines 5-6)?

a.       The speaker cannot hear; he is deaf

b.      The surrounding noise is so loud that no human voices can be heard

c.       The speaker is somehow cut off from any other humans

d.      That those without the ability to express themselves are not fully human

e.       The speaker is not worthy to speak to other humans

3.      The italicized dialogue in lines (40-41) “Oh, nice abs!... Honey, just lie back” is acts as which of the following literary devices?

a.       Metaphor

b.      Synesthesia

c.       Simile

d.      Personification

e.       Flashback

4.      The imagery in lines 46-54 serves primarily to:

a.       Describe what the speaker sees on the ocean

b.      Show that something which seems harmless may prove to be quite dangerous

c.       Explain the legends of mermaids

d.      Demonstrate the vividness of the speaker’s illusions because of too much exposure to sunlight

e.       Show the importance of this memory as the speaker can recall every detail so clearly

5.      The quote “The sea is hot metal” (line 62) is an example of:

a.       Alliteration

b.      Apostrophe

c.       Flashback

d.      Internal thought

e.       Metaphor