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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens after the disappearance of Wyatt and his vast Colorado oil fields?
(a) The government reopens the Wyatt oil fields and everything gets back to normal.
(b) Mine owners begin blowing up their mines.
(c) Small companies cannot supply enough oil to fill the demand.
(d) Project X provides a new and better fuel.

2. Based on what she knows at the moment, what conclusion does Dagny draw about the disappearance of men like Wyatt?
(a) She believes there is a destroyer.
(b) She thinks they are being kidnapped by the government.
(c) She thinks they are all joining the communist movement.
(d) She believes they are secretly working on her railroad line.

3. Who is almost single handedly responsible for opening up trade in Colorado?
(a) Jim Taggart
(b) Hank Rearden
(c) Ellis Wyatt
(d) Paul Larkin

4. What is Dagny's reply to Cherryl's comment that she is "the woman in the Taggart family"?
(a) That's quiet all right. I'm the man.
(b) What am I? Chopped liver?
(c) You're welcome to the job.
(d) Don't tell my dress maker.

5. What is the lie that James Taggart tells the Board of Taggert Railroad?
(a) That he would pay for all the company losses out of his own pocket.
(b) That the whole thing was Dagny's fault since she wanted the Mexican line.
(c) That he foresaw this action, cut the schedule and removed the good equipment from that line.
(d) That Francisco d'Anconia had sold his copper mines to Mexico.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the Thanksgiving dinner, why does Lillian urge Hank not to fight the lawsuit?

2. What is the meaning of "Wyatt's torch"?

3. What decision does Dagny make when she is nine years old?

4. When Dagny demands to be made Vice President in Charge of Operations, what reason does Jim give her for opposing the idea?

5. What is the comparison Francisco makes between John Galt and Prometheus?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how the mystery of Eddie Willers' unnamed friend in the cafeteria and the shadowy man Dagny sees outside her office add to the suspense of the novel.

2. What is the significance of "the best hamburger" Dagny has ever tasted when she goes to the diner in Wyoming?

3. Francisco engineers a huge financial fraud on the Mexican government and greedy shareholders like James Taggart and Orren Boyle. Then he asks Dagny, "Who is John Galt?" How does Rand use his character to build suspense?

4. Francisco d'Anconia, heir of the d'Anconia Copper Mining empire, has developed a reputation as a playboy and a dilettante. Itemize the events in his early years with Dagny and James Taggart that are contradictory to that image.

5. As James Taggart and Dagny discuss plans for Taggart Transcontinental, James' attitude sets the stage for the real conflict in ATLAS SHRUGGED. Explain.

6. Explain the symbolism of Lillian's taking Dagny's diamond bracelet in exchange for the Rearden Metal chain.

7. Dagny sees Hank Rearden as a "man who belongs on earth." Explain why.

8. Why is the idea of "motive" so important in the novel? Explain in detail.

9. Explain the conflict within Francisco when he discovers that Rearden had ordered copper from his mines in Argentina.

10. How does the scene of the broken furnace give Hank insight into Francisco's real character?

(see the answer keys)

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