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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. To which of the following does Liz compare Anwar?

2. The comment that “Back at HQ, it’s as if a giant virtual boot has kicked over the anthill” (180) offers an example of which of the following?

3. In which of the following cities does Kemal note a Babylon death occurs?

4. From which of the following does Anwar receive an unexpected phone call?

5. To which of the following does the Toymaker compare himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Liz characterize “the besetting cognitive error of any senior officer confronted by too much data” (217)?

2. What warnings does MacDonald tacitly offer Liz and Kemal about ATHENA?

3. What reason does Dorothy give for avoiding a weekday assignation with Liz (272)?

4. What reasons does Anwar note for pitying his fellow inmates in Saughton (186)?

5. What preparations does Dorothy make in her hotel room against a possible teleconference (272)?

6. What factors are noted in the decline of higher education prior to the novel?

7. What reasons does Kemal give for labeling MacDonald a coward?

8. What does Liz note as a benefit of her assignment to liaise with the Interpol agent for Babylon?

9. How does MacDonald explain “steering people” (308)?

10. What reasons does the Toymaker note for determining to research steak consumption in Scotland?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is to be made of the parallels in phrasing between Liz and the Toymaker in the ninth and tenth chapter (both remark that “Once is happenstance, but twice is enemy action” and that “Someone’s going to bleed for this. And it’s not going to be you”)? How does that significance emerge?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the epigraph from Pat Robertson: “In Scotland, you can’t believe how strong the homosexuals are.” Typically, epigraphs suggest one or more of the themes of the works they introduce. Does the epigraph on Rule 34 effectively suggest one or more of the novel’s themes? If so, how? If not, what purpose does the epigraph serve, and how does it achieve it?

Essay Topic 3

Liz early on shows a propensity towards assigning nicknames to her colleagues. Select one such nickname; explicate its significance.

(see the answer keys)

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