Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Multiple Choice

1. D (Chapter 18)

2. A (Chapter 8)

3. B (Various chapters)

4. D (Chapter 10)

5. A (Chapter 17)

6. B (Chapter 16)

7. C (Chapter 21)

8. D (Chapter 15)

9. A (Chapter 22)

10. B (Chapter 13)

11. C (Various chapters)

12. A (Chapter 22)

13. B (Chapter 24)

14. A (Chapter 22)

15. C (Various chapters)

Long Answer

1. Nicodemus plans to write a book about the rats and their colony some day, making sure that he and all the other rats’ work is remembered. The owl, on the other hand, has grown weary of his long life and plans to let the old tree he’s living in dictate the end of his life for him. This reflects the enhanced intelligence of the rats because Nicodemus understands he has much left to learn and offer the colony even in his old age, but the owl has no way to further enhance his life. (Various chapters)

2. The rats escaped from the lab once, and the scientists likely understand that they have no way to contain these super-intelligent and literate rats. Allowing them to live in the wild is also not an option since they know the alterations they made to the rats are genetic and will be passed on to future generations, which would lead to some major problems for humans in the future. (Various chapters)

3. Jonathan became super intelligent and was given extended life in the same experiment as the rats, and so they understood one another’s plight. Jonathan continued to be a good friend of the rats when they moved to the farm, helping them with their Plan in secret. Jonathan’s relationship to the rats is crucial for Mrs. Frisby to save her family because the owl would not have told her to go to the rats if he did not know she was Jonathan’s wife. Furthermore, the rats would never have let her into the rat colony or been willing to help her with such a monumental task without her relationship to Jonathan. (Various chapters)