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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 is Owen Kellogg's reply to Dagny when she asks him why he is resigning from Taggert Railway?

2. How does Dr. Ferris explain to Rearden the many laws that are being passed by the State?

3. Why does Dagny take a leave of absence from her job as Vice President of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental?

4. What does Dagny notice before leaving Dannager's office?

5. What is the purpose of the party Lillian plans to give in three months?

Short Essay Questions

1. Rand introduces "Wyatt's Torch" as Dagny returns on the train to Wyatt Junction. What does the term suggest?

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

3. Write a few paragraphs on why Hank Rearden does not mind supporting his idle family but refuses to give Phillip a job he is not qualified to handle.

4. Discuss the significance of the names Rand gives to the businesses in ATLAS SHRUGGED.

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

6. 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.

7. Explain the significance of the mysterious Halley's Fifth Concerto in developing the novel.

8. In the chapter Rand calls "Account Overdrawn," how does the author picture the results of the socialist government's regulations?

9. Lillian demands the Rearden Metal bracelet back and threatens to tell everyone that Dagny is sleeping with her husband. What is the irony of that situation?

10. The title of the chapter, "The Exploiters and the Exploited" might suggest that the industrialists like Hank Rearden exploit the public by creating products for their own personal gratification. Rand, however, turns that around to suggest that the socialist government are exploiting the industrialists. Support that idea.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a few pages, define the manufacture of Rearden Metal and why Taggart, Boye, and Mouch were so afraid of it.

Essay Topic 2

Write about Ellis Wyatt the first time he meets Dagny. Describe him as a businessman.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining your personal feelings about the socialist government in ATLAS SHRUGGED.

(see the answer keys)

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