A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

Midpoint Test Study Guide

I. Vocabulary waning anguish rotund novice largess solicitous incongruent lulled trifles ebullient oblivious tempestuous memorabilia unperturbed evacuate prodigious facetiously mishap circumspection theological ominous brevity adamant culprits benign roving

II. Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. How did each of the following passengers try to explain the jolt:

a. Marguerite Frolicher

b. Major Arthur Peuchen

c. Mrs. J. .Stuart White

d. Lady Cosmo Duff Gordon

e. Mrs. John Jacob Astor

f. Mrs. Albert Caldwell

g. Mrs. Walter B. Stephenson

h. Mrs. E.D. Appleton

2. Why did Bruce Ismay wake up with a start?

3. How did some of the passengers know they had hit an iceberg?

4. What damage was done to the ship in the boiler room?

5. Why wasn’t Groves, on the Californian, surprised when all of the lights of the passing ship went out?

Maher - AC English Language Arts East Cobb Middle School 2016

Chapter 2

1. Why was this particular voyage of significance to Captain Smith?

2. Why were there so many messages being sent from the ?

3. Why didn’t the Californian get the distress call from the Titanic?

Chapter 3

1. Why was Second Officer Lightoller late in arriving to help the passengers?

2. What do we learn about the number of lifeboats in relation to the number of passengers?

3. Why do some passengers refuse to wear life vests?

Chapter 4

1. Why did some passengers refuse to get into lifeboats?

2. What heroics were performed to save other people? How did the third class deal with the disaster?

3. How were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers treated differently when it came to the use of lifeboats?

Chapter 5

1. What message did send his wife? What was Benjamin wearing as the Titanic sank?

2. How many people remained to use the last lifeboat?

Maher - AC English Language Arts East Cobb Middle School 2016 III. Key Passages

Foreword “This somehow showed the futility of everything, and in fact the book was called Futility when it appeared that year, published by the firm of M.F. Mansfield.” Chapter 1 “Steward James Johnson felt he know just what it was. He recognized the kind of shudder a shop gives when she drops a propeller blade, and he knew this sort of mishap meant a trip back to the Harland & Wolf Shipyard at Belfast- with plenty of free time to enjoy the hospitality of the port. Somebody near him agreed and sang out cheerfully, ‘Another Belfast trip!’” Chapter 2 “Only six year before, when he brought over the brand-new Adriatic, he remarked: “’I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.’” Chapter 3 “The things people took with them showed how they felt.” Chapter 4 “Another wave of men rushed the boat. Seaman Scarrott beat them back with the tiller. This time Lowe pulled his gun and shouted, “If anyone else tries that, this is what he’ll get!” He fired three times along the side of the ship as the boat dropped down to the sea.”

IV. Key Passengers

1. Bruce Ismay- President of the

2. Captain Lord- Captain of the Californian

3. Captain Smith- Captain of the Titanic

4. - 2nd officer, helped load lifeboats

5. First Officer William Murdoch- In charge when the Titanic hit the iceberg

6. Jack Thayer Jr.- 1st class passenger

7. John Jacob Astor- Richest man on board

8. Lookout - The lookout who saw the iceberg

9. - Designer of the Titanic

V. Extended Response

You will be asked to consider why the Titanic was deemed ‘unsinkable’ and how this label affected how the passengers responded to the jolt/news about the iceberg.

Maher - AC English Language Arts East Cobb Middle School 2016

VI. Constructed Response

You will be asked to choose two passengers from the list below and explain how you think the things they took with them showed how they felt:

a. Adolf Dyker

b. Mrs. Edith Russell

c. Stewart Collett

d.

e. Norman Campbell

f. Steward Johnson

g. Mrs. Dickinson Bishop

h. Major Arthur Peuchen

Maher - AC English Language Arts East Cobb Middle School 2016