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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 Loyola do to expose and confuse the Templars?

2. To what country does Casaubon travel to visit a Templar temple?

3. According to Salon, followers of which faith are plotting to harness the underground energies?

4. What does Diotallevi ask Belbo about Abulafia?

5. When Casaubon shows Lia the parchment that started his involvement in the Plan, what does she think is written on it?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conclusion does Belbo reach, regarding Francis Bacon, in the Plan?

2. Why does Casaubon include a group not related to the Freemasons when constructing his time line?

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

4. Why does Casaubon enter randomly chosen lines of text, which have nothing to do with the occult, into the computer?

5. What was Napoleon's role in the Jesuit-Templar conflict?

6. What deduction do Casaubon and his group make about the Pendulum's purpose, in Chapter 99?

7. What does Aglie want Belbo to transport for him?

8. What was the relationship between the Templars and the Jesuits, according to Casaubon's theory?

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

10. What happens in the story Belbo creates from Abulafia's printouts?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lia suggests that God, Synarchy and many other occult traditions in the novel are really all the same thing. Why does she suggest this? What do all belief systems and traditions have in common? Why does she feel that people need to have something in which to believe? Do you agree with her assessments? Why or why not? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the character of Lorenza, and her role as a symbol of knowledge. Why does Aglie call her Sophia? What does that name mean? How does she interact with the other characters, particularly Casaubon? How do her interactions with the other characters reflect their search for knowledge? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

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