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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. Who is Riccardo?

2. What happens to Colonel Ardenti in Chapter 24?

3. What is the subject of the book Belbo wants Casaubon to work on?

4. Why is Mr. Garamond's office connected to Garamond Press by a secret passageway?

5. Mr. Garamond's other publishing company publishes only what type of authors?

Short Essay Questions

1. What changed, in Italy, during the time that Casaubon was living in Brazil?

2. Why does Professor Bramanti meet with Mr. Garamond?

3. How did Casaubon, Belbo and Diotallevi meet?

4. What are the two publishing companies run by Mr. Garamond?

5. How does Casaubon unlock Belbo's computer?

6. What does Belbo tell Casaubon during their phone call two days before the museum rendezvous?

7. What were the origins of the Knights Templar?

8. What is Project Hermes?

9. What does Aglie tell Casaubon about Agartha?

10. Why do Belbo, Diotallevi and Casaubon meet at Pilade's in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the main characters' individual quests for knowledge and truth. How do Casaubon, Belbo and Diotallevi search for their version of the truth? What does each character, respectively, discover? What are the similarities and differences in each character's version of the truth? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

The Plan begins as a game, but eventually leads to the deaths of all four main characters. How does the Plan transform from a hobby, into a deadly reality? Why does Belbo begin to believe that the Plan is real? What message is the author trying to convey, via the deaths of these four characters? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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