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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 does Margo believe is necessary to release the drug into the ecosystem?

2. What is the name of the one person who escaped a close encounter with Mbwun?

3. Whom does Smithback run into after witnessing the horrible destruction of a group of policemen in the tunnels?

4. What weapon does Pendergast prepare before they set the charges in the Bottleneck?

5. The hut Pendergast observes consists of what building material?

Short Essay Questions

1. What purpose might hallucinogenic mushrooms serve in the ceremony that Kawakita established?

2. What purpose does the scene with the Navy SEALs have?

3. Of what is the subway massacre the first definitive indication? What does this mean to the investigation?

4. What does Smithback view that leads him to believe his ambition might have finally taken him too far? Do you think his fear is because he feels his mortality or because he has seen the mortality of others?

5. What is the overwhelming feeling you get from the unnamed character in Chapter 34? Does he seem like every megalomaniac created in literature, or is there something different about him?

6. What starts the riots during the Take Back Our City March? Is this the fault of Mrs. Wisher, the police, or the homeless? Cite examples to support your argument.

7. Why does Pendergast make a second trip into the tunnels?

8. What do you think are Pendergast's true intentions in leaving Margo behind when he, Mephisto, and D'Agosta try to destroy the Wrinklers?

9. What do you think are Pendergast's true intentions in bringing Mephisto along on the mission to the Crystal Palace?

10. What do Margo's lab findings on the reovirus seem to indicate? How do these findings translate to the infection of humans?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Here there be monsters." Given the context of this statement, humans feared the unknown and unknowable since the beginning of time. Other than the obvious, how does this quote apply to this book. Look beyond the Wrinklers and cite examples from the text to support your explanation.

Essay Topic 2

Smithback is proud of the good he thinks he has done for the Pamela Wisher murder case. However, important people look at what he has done as meddling. What things has Smithback done to bring the case to the forefront, and why are certain people unhappy with his interference?

Essay Topic 3

The author incorporates extensive use of similes and metaphors to "illustrate" this novel. For example, he states that, "The Reservoir itself was a sheet of beaten gold in the sunset." Can you think of any other examples cited in the text? What does the use of similes and metaphors add to the story?

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This section contains 884 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample