What is Absaloms occupation? What does Absaloms voice sound like? At the end of Absalom’s description, what are two things he cannot stand?
What are some of the things Absalom does or sends to Alison to woo her after his serenading fails?
Nicholas’ plan to have his way with Alison involves three stages. During the first stage, between Saturday and Sunday, what does Nicholas pretend to be?
When John finds Nicholas staring catatonically, what does he assume has happened to Nicholas?
John recounts to himself the story of a clerk (student) who gazed too much at the stars doing his astronomy lessons. What happened to that clerk in John’s aside? What does John’s choice of stories reveal about his own attitude toward learning?
What must John and his servant do to get inside Nicholas’s bedroom, since Nicholas is still pretending to be “catatonic”?
When John commands Nicholas, “think on Christ’s passion,” as a cure for Nicholas’s catatonia, what does this reveal about John’s attitude toward medicine and religion?
What does Nicholas say will happen next Monday, according to his astrological predictions?
Whom does John express concern about when he learns the world is going to end?
According to Nicholas, how long will the flood on Monday last?
What three objects does Nicholas order John to hang from the ceiling as emergency escape craft before the flood hits? What three people are supposed to sit in the three tubs?
Who personally hand-builds three ladders to place beneath the three tubs?
What emergency food rations does John place in each tub/boat?
Who notices that John hadn’t been out working all day? What does this person mistakenly assume about John’s whereabouts?
Who or what interrupts Nicholas and Alison?
What does Absalom demand before he will go away?
What trick or prank does Alison play on Absalom?
What cunning plan backfires for Nicholas?
As Nicholas lets his buttocks hang outside the window, he lets fly . . . . what? How does this connect earlier with Absalom’s squeamishness?
When John cuts the ropes and his tub falls, what happens to John (i.e., what injury does he suffer?)
When the neighbors come to find out what all the screaming and yelling is about, what do Nicholas and Alison tell them about John?
How do all the neighbors react to John’s “fantasy”?
What prayer does the Miller make at the end of his tale? (i.e., whom does he ask God to save)?