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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Belbo when he is driving with Lorenza?

2. Belbo and Casaubon interpret the computer's output to mean that Jesus fathered what line of kings?

3. What were the relations between Napoleon and the Jesuits and Jews?

4. The group led by the Old Man in the Mountain associates itself with what other group?

5. The Tzarist agent was central in creating what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does Casaubon's group devise from Abulafia's output?

2. What does Aglie want Belbo to transport for him?

3. What was the relationship between the Templars and the Jesuits, according to Casaubon's theory?

4. What happens to Diotallevi in Chapter 101?

5. What happens to Belbo, at the end of the novel?

6. What deduction do Casaubon and his group make about the Pendulum's purpose, in Chapter 99?

7. What is the final piece of information for the Plan, supplied by Salon?

8. What does Belbo say about the believability of the Plan, in Chapter 100?

9. What is set up by the cloaked individuals in the Conservatoire?

10. According to Casaubon's group, what were some of the Jesuits' accomplishments?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many different views are expressed in the novel regarding occult knowledge; for example, Bramanti wants to disseminate occult knowledge because of the power inherent in it, whereas Garamond cares only for the profit that can be gained from selling it. Discuss the different views of occult knowledge and mysticism presented in the novel, and reasons for each of those views. Which one do you agree with most, and why? Which one do you think the author would agree with, and why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of knowledge without understanding in the novel. How does the use of technology to accomplish some tasks diminish the significance of the result? How does each character feel about using computers and technology to perform certain tasks, such as permutations, and why? How does this theme, in the novel, reflect the increasing use of technology in modern society, and the author's attitude about it? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

The author includes a great deal of technical information related to mathematics, physics, and other scientific disciplines. What purpose does this information serve in the novel? Why does the author choose to include it? How would the novel be different without the addition of this information? Do you agree with its inclusion, or would the novel have been better without it? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

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