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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. How much weight has Francis lost during his vigil?

2. Who does Paulo kick out of the guesthouse?

3. What does Brother Francis find that has the name Leibowitz, I.E. on it?

4. How long does Francis remain a novitiate?

5. What does the pilgrim find for Brother Francis?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Francis realize about the Pope and the Vatican, on examining the Pope's cassock and the surroundings closely?

2. What does Cheroki's disbelief in Francis's find tell the reader about the rarity of the fallout shelter and relics?

3. What is Brother Francis seeking in the desert?

4. Why doesn't Francis merely tell the abbot what he wants to hear?

5. What is Taddeo's attitude toward the clergy and the Church?

6. Describe Taddeo's ideas about history.

7. Why were papers burned during the Simplification?

8. What is the implication of the wry smile on Fingo's statue of Leibowitz?

9. What physical characteristics to Minnesotans have, and what is the likely cause of them?

10. What stops Brother Francis from sharing the pilgrim's food?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the Simplification.

Part 1) What were the people's motives for the Simplification? Are the goals of the Simplification desirable? What was lost and gained because of the Simplification?

Part 2) Were any of the actions of the Simplification justified?

Part 3) Are the goals of the Simplification realistic or possible?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Old Jew.

Part 1) What is the Old Jew's true identity? Can you make a case for more than one possible identity? What evidence is there for his identity?

Part 2) What role does he play in the story? Why is he in all three parts of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Taddeo believes that he finds evidence that the current human race was a created race of servants, inferior to the great civilization of the past. His own personal view of humanity colors how he views this evidence. Discuss the way that personal points of view affect the interpretation of evidence and events throughout the novel. Include in your discussion Francis, Cheroki, and Arkos' reactions to the discovery of the Fallout Shelter; Paulo, Taddeo, and Armbruster's reactions to the electric light; and Zerchi's reaction to reports of movements or responses from Mrs. Grales' second head, Rachel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 655 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample