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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. Where is Casaubon's group at the beginning of Chapter 63?

2. Where do Belbo and Lorenza go while Casaubon is on vacation?

3. What happens to Belbo when he is driving with Lorenza?

4. How does Casaubon feel about the items he sees in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers?

5. What object was Loyola seeking?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Belbo, at the end of the novel?

2. According to Casaubon's group, what were some of the Jesuits' accomplishments?

3. Casaubon believes that John Dee played what role in the disruption of the Templars' line of communication?

4. What does Belbo say about the believability of the Plan, in Chapter 100?

5. What story does Casaubon's group devise from Abulafia's output?

6. What happens to Casaubon at the end of the novel?

7. What do Salon and Casaubon talk about when Casaubon visits Salon in his shop?

8. What does Casaubon do after the night at the Conservatoire?

9. What is the final piece of information for the Plan, supplied by Salon?

10. What does the group of cloaked individuals want with Belbo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Diotallevi tells Belbo they made a mistake in devising the Plan, clearly believing that his own declining health is due to his involvement in it; Belbo is murdered because of it. Have there been other times when the pursuit of occult knowledge has led to someone's downfall? What was the reason for it? Do you think Diotallevi still would have fallen ill and died if it were not for his involvement in the Plan, or is he reading too much into his illness and death, as he and the others did with believing that the fictional Plan was true? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Casaubon misses out on a lot of time with his wife and child as a result of his occult studies, despite the fact that his wife constantly tries to bring him back to them. Why does he prefer the Plan and other students of the occult to his own family? What is he seeking, that is so important? What sacrifices does he make, during his search for truth, and how do his sacrifices affect his family? 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.

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