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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 did Einstein's theory of time begin as?

2. According to the narrator, why do "cursed citizens wrestle with their bedsheets"?

3. What does the narrator want readers to suppose time is?

4. Finish the following line: "A world in which time is absolute is a world of ____________."

5. According to the dream on "24 April 1905," what happens when the two "times" meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the first Interlude, why is Besso worried about Einstein?

2. How can one identify people who have been transported back in time? (16 April 1905)

3. What are the benefits of a world in which time is absolute?

4. Why do schools close one year before the end of the world?

5. How does Einstein's desk differ from the others in the patent office?

6. What happens one minute before the end of the world?

7. What happens when there is only one day until the end of the world?

8. Why do people in the 26 April 1905 dream choose to live in the mountains?

9. Why does Besso believe that there are problems with Einstein's reasoning behind his creation of a theory of time?

10. At the end of the 26 April 1905 dream, what are the negative effects of living in the mountains?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the formatting of the novel. Choose one of the following prompts discussing the formatting of the novel:

- Were you confused by the dates of the chapters and the meaning behind them?

- When did you realize the chapters were describing dreams and not realities for the novel?

- Why do you believe that readers are not given more information on Einstein himself about the movement of the novel?

- Do you think that this adds to the flow of the novel or hinders the flow of it?

- What relevance does Besso play in the novel?

- Why does the reader see more of his thoughts than Einstein's?

Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the Great Clock. What problems are associated with placing all trust in a manmade object? What are the benefits associated with placing all trust in a synthetic object? Would you choose to place you life in the motion of the clock or not? Why? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the limited use of illustrations in the novel. Why do you believe that illustrations are only used to lead into the "current time" of the novel? What is the importance of their placement? Do you believe that the illustrations are simply illustrations, or are they relative to the novel in a functional way? Why? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

(see the answer keys)

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