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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 sent Dick, Bob and Jack to get work?

2. What is the Minerva attacked by?

3. Who starts a fire at Daniel's house?

4. What period is this book set in?

5. What did Dick, Bob, and Jack get as their first job?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Daniel think he got the best education possible at Cambridge?

2. What did Newton build on a wall in Cambridge?

3. Why does Daniel make a hole in a roof?

4. What happens to Jack after his visit to Backboden?

5. How did Jack meet Eliza?

6. How is Leibniz's mine different from other mines?

7. What job did Jack have at the prison?

8. What frightens Jack in Backboden?

9. Why is the Minerva attacked?

10. Why does Daniel leave his family and go to London?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of this plot follows the relationship between Jack and Eliza. How does this relationship change over the course of the plot, and what causes these changes?

Essay Topic 2

The separation of classes is quite a significant theme in this book. What are these classes, and how does this separation affect the characters belonging to them?

Essay Topic 3

Symbolism is a very prevalent literary device used by Neal Stephenson. What are some of these symbols, and how does their presence affect the course of the plot?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 538 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample