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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. The owner of the villa allegedly possesses what mysterious items?

2. Which of these is NOT one of the four types of people, according to Belbo?

3. Why is Amparo so upset after the ritual?

4. How does Casaubon meet Signor Aglie?

5. What is Agartha?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Salon and Casaubon discuss during their first reunion in the mine?

2. How did the official end of the Knights Templar occur?

3. What idea does Mr. Garamond get from his meeting with Professor Bramanti?

4. What is Aglie's response when Casaubon asks him why he associates himself with so many different occult practices?

5. What do Casaubon and Belbo overhear when they go to visit Aglie?

6. What happens at the religious ceremony to which Aglie invites Casaubon and Amparo?

7. What does Aglie tell Casaubon about Agartha?

8. What information does Colonel Ardenti relay to Casaubon and Belbo?

9. How do Belbo and Casaubon become involved with the police, in Chapter 24?

10. What offer does Casaubon receive from Belbo in Chapter 37?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Diotallevi believes that permutations, and other searches for occult knowledge, should be performed manually, whereas Belbo and Casaubon want to use Abulafia to perform these tasks. What is Diotallevi's reasoning for his preference? How do Belbo and Casaubon respond to him? What is lost when a task is performed by a computer, instead of being performed manually? How does the lack of effort created by this method change the meaning or outcome of the task? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Anti-Semitic theories abound in the novel, as well as throughout history. Why are the Jews so commonly presented as villains in religious, historical and occult traditions and stories? How does Casaubon feel about them? What about Diotallevi? What role do they play in the Plan, and why? At what point do the characters' attitudes regarding the Jews' participation in the conspiracy change, and why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

The Knights Templar are one of the main occult groups presented in the novel. Why is so little known about them? Why are they so central to a variety of beliefs and traditions? Why are scholars so interested in them after so many centuries? What information presented regarding the Templars is fact, and what is speculation? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

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