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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. In which of the following does Todd invest?

2. How does the novel gloss the phrase “e fenua manuïa”?

3. What make of car does Todd’s father buy for him?

4. Which of the following had Todd’s father taken?

5. How many poets’ work is Rafi expected to treat in his master’s thesis?

Short Essay Questions

1. What had Todd’s father said about a person’s worth and character?

2. What does Todd note about eggplant?

3. Why does Evie hesitate to take an assignment from the National Geographic Society?

4. How does Bart occupy himself while Evie is away on research before completing her dissertation?

5. What had been Didier’s goal in office?

6. What is Rafi’s refuge on campus as a freshman?

7. What is the initial reaction to the investors offering a trial artificial intelligence to Makatea?

8. How does the novel describe the defeat by Deep Blue of Kasparov?

9. What coda does Evie hope to witness from helping the manta ray?

10. What is done with the remains of Todd’s father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A lack of formal sectional division in the novel obliges a fairly arbitrary breakdown of the text for purposes of study and discussion. On what grounds might the current divisions be in place? Why and how are they appropriate to the text?

Essay Topic 2

The lengths of sections influence reading. What pattern of section-length is present in the novel, if any? What effect does the length of chapters have on the reading? How is the effect achieved?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the cosmogyny expressed in the first two sections of the novel. What does it explain in your world? What does it fail to explain? How?

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