99 pages • 3 hours read
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Reading Check
1. What is the subject of the book John (the narrator) is working on as the novel opens?
2. What word does Newt suggest John use to describe the Hoenikkers instead of “illustrious”?
3. A complaint about what problem led Dr. Hoenikker to develop ice-nine?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. According to Bokononism, what is a karass?
2. How does Newt respond when his father shows him the cat’s cradle?
3. Why did Frank’s peers call him “Secret Agent X-9” during high school?
Paired Resource
“The First Nuclear Bomb – Manhattan Project”
Reading Check
1. What kind of work does Frank do in his youth?
2. What kind of business did Julian Castle run before opening the hospital?
3. What do the Crosbys accuse the Mintons of being?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Dr. Hoenikker respond to Miss Faust’s claim that “God is love”?
2. Emily has many admirers. Why does she choose to marry Felix Hoenikker?
3. How does John react to the coincidence of seeing his family name on the stone angel?
Paired Resource
Reading Check
1. How does Bokonon end up in San Lorenzo?
2. Why did Papa Monzano adopt Mona Aamons?
3. What is the official religion of San Lorenzo?
4. The national anthem of San Lorenzo is set to which tune?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Papa Monzano select Frank as his successor?
2. Why do the Crosbys leave Philip’s hotel?
Paired Resource
Reading Check
1. Which instrument does Angela play?
2. What does the Bokononist word “zah-mah-ki-bo” mean?
3. What job does Frank offer to John?
4. According to Frank, what is the only thing Bokononism holds sacred?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the significance of the cat’s cradle to Newt?
2. Why did Bokonon ask McCabe to outlaw his religion?
Paired Resource
Reading Check
1. What holiday does the country of San Lorenzo celebrate in this section?
2. Name at least one of the historical figures whose images are to be destroyed in the air show.
3. How does the Soviet Union gain access to ice-nine?
4. Where does Bokonon suggest John take his manuscript?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Horlick Minton suggest is the best way to honor those who died in war?
2. Why is John frustrated by Frank’s interest in the ant colony?
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Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
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By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.