View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is the Earl (Orien's grandfather) initially impatient with Birle?

2. What is Joaquim's goal?

3. What does Birle tell Yul to do if he is mistreated?

4. If people in the Kingdom asked, what was Birle and Orien's cover story for Orien?

5. Who is revealed to have murdered Orien's father?

Short Essay Questions

1. What changes once Orien is back in the Kingdom?

2. What does Birle come to understand about Gladaegal?

3. What is Birle grateful for having known?

4. Who is Lady Fortune and what does Joaquim say about her?

5. Birle sees a hand nailed to a board holding a gold coin and she finds out that there is another hand on the other side as well as the heads that go with the hands elsewhere at the marketplace. What do these represent and who are they?

6. Describe the relationship between Joaquim and Birle in Chapter 19.

7. Why does Birle reveal to Joaquim that she can read?

8. Describe Birle's work as a slave for Joaquim and what drives her to work so hard.

9. What does Birle understand about Nan?

10. How does Corbel see Birle differently now in Chapter 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Birle wants control of her own life and situations, but she continually feels that fortune has a hand in everything. Joaquim even says "There are some who say that the Lady Fortune has a wheel , and all men are fixed upon it. The wheel turns, the men rise or fall, with the turning of the wheel." What does Joaquim mean with this statement? Who is Lady Fortune and how does it relate to Birle's view of fortune? How does fortune take away Birle's control?

Essay Topic 2

We meet Gladaegal as we near the end of the novel. Compare and contrast Gladaegal and Orien. How is their relationship with one another? Who might make a better Earl, and why?

Essay Topic 3

The concept of fear is used throughout the book, especially by Corbel. What is fear and how does it control a man? How does a man control it? How does a man use fear as a means of control? Discuss the ideas of fear and control as separate entities and how they work together. Use examples and characters from the book. Mention the times that Birle has been afraid and analyze why. Was it another person who made her afraid or an outside force? Was her fear justified?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample