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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 does Charles see after a bell sounds in Chapter 20?

2. How old was Charles when the UTM-21 was developed?

3. What date does the wall calendar show in the scene of the kitchen in Charles's boyhood home in Chapter 28?

4. In Chapter 27, Charles asks TAMMY to calculate the odds of what?

5. Who does the shuttle driver turn out to be in Chapter 20?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the theme of memory embodied in Chapter 16?

2. What does Charles realize the setting represents in Chapter 20? What is his response to the setting?

3. What is described in the excerpt "TM-31 calibration protocol"? How is this metaphorical?

4. What is symbolized by Charles's experience of nothingness in Chapter 19?

5. What is metaphorical about Charles's transcription of the book in Chapter 16?

6. What is symbolized by Charles's father's second machine described in Chapter 26?

7. What is symbolized through the shuttle driver in Chapter 20?

8. What is the author's statement about contemporary life in Chapter 30? How is this symbolized?

9. Against whose advice does Charles jump to the end of the book in Chapter 18? Why?

10. What happens when Charles's father begins to demonstrate the machine in Chapter 25? What is his reaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the settings of Universe 31 and TM-31. What is the size of the universe? How big is Charles's ship?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the narrator's interaction with his client in Oakland and discuss symbolism and nostalgia in Chapter 8. What does the narrator believe his clients really want?

Essay Topic 3

Define and discuss literary allusion in the narrative. From what film or literature does the character of Luke Skywalker arise?

(see the answer keys)

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