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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 do the big brown envelopes that arrive for Sophie contain?

2. What are Indo-European myths about?

3. Where is Sophie going to invite Alberto?

4. What tool does the God Thor use?

5. What does Sophie see on the inside of a banana peel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Characterize Sophie's religion teacher when she questioned Sophie's answers on a test.

2. What did Sophie learn from working with Legos in connection to Democritus?

3. Why does Alberto dress in costume to reflect his teachings? Does this enhance his lessons?

4. Socrates could have escaped death through exile, but refused. What does this act say about his character?

5. Do people today, as the Greeks did, believe in fate or predestination? What are examples?

6. Why would ancient people make up such elaborate stories to explain how their world works?

7. Epicureans believe in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Is this a theme of the novel? Why?

8. Why is it important that Sophie designed her own myth?

9. Does nature constrain human's free will like Spinoza believed? How?

10. Are the postcard that is addressed to Hilde, and Alberto's decision to teach Sophie in person, connected? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Characterize Major Knag. Look at his name--does the play on his name have significance? How do Hilde and Alberto indirectly characterize him? How is he directly characterized?

Essay Topic 2

The overlap of philosophy and religion in the book is a common debate in our culture. How great is the overlap in the book? Does Sophie react to this debate? Is her reaction realistic? Why?

1) Include at least three solid examples to explain how these topics overlap.

2) Comment on Sophie's reaction to this overlap. Is her reaction to the specific examples realistic?

Essay Topic 3

As the novel closes, what is Hilde's opinion of her father? Did this experience bring them closer or hurt their relationship? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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