View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. With whom was Carol in love for most of her life?

2. Why does Jason want Tyler to inject him with the Martian drug?

3. What is the morning's rising sun like after Tyler speaks to Jason?

4. What does Diane's new sect consider Wun?

5. What happens to Wun after returning to Florida?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tyler do and how does he feel when men burn down Ina's clinic?

2. What does Jason report to Tyler about the replicators a few years after they were launched?

3. What happens shortly after the Spin membrane is gone?

4. What does Wun tell Tyler about a possible cure for Jason?

5. Why is Jason dying?

6. What does Jason tell Tyler about the Martian ambassador, conditions on Mars and why he was sent?

7. What is in the envelope Tyler received after from Jason after he died? Why did Jason leave him the envelope?

8. What does Tyler do about Diane's disease and what does he tell Jason?

9. What happens in the summer with the sky and why does Simon call Tyler? How does Tyler respond?

10. What does Tyler wonder about Diane and how does she respond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tyler is writing a record of his past, which could be called a journal, memoir or autobiography. Discuss the following:

What is a journal? Is it the same as a memoir or autobiography? Why or why not.

What is gained by framing this story in the format of a memoir? What is lost by doing so?

Although Spin is a work of fiction, the author would have the readers "suspend their disbelief" and view it as an actual memoir describing actual events. If the reader were to assume the events described in Tyler's writings were actually true, how do you think the point of view of the narrator would bias the account?

Essay Topic 2

Many books are written not just to entertain, but also because the author wants readers to think about one or more themes or issues. Discuss one of the following:

Follow the theme of fanaticism and analyze it thoroughly throughout the text, using specific examples.

Follow the theme of environmental responsibility and analyze it thoroughly throughout the text, using specific examples.

Discuss what might be the author's agenda in writing Spin, giving examples from the text and relating it to the "real" world.

Essay Topic 3

Chapter one opens in the present but then flashes back to the past. This technique is done with a literary device called a flashback. There are a number of literary devices in this novel. Discuss one of the following:

Define "flashback" and give examples of it in the novel. What is the purpose of a flashback? How effective is the use of flashbacks in this story? What is a weakness of using flashbacks? Why do you think the author choices to use flashbacks in this story so often? Would this story be very different if told completely in chronological order? Why or why not? How would it change the plot?

Define metaphor and give examples of it in the novel. What is the purpose of a metaphor? How effective is the use of metaphors in this story? What is a weakness of using metaphors? Would this story be very different if there were no metaphors? Why or why not? How would it change the plot?

Choose one literary device that occurs in Spin and answer the following questions:

What is the purpose of the literary device? How effective is the use of the literary device in this story? What is a weakness of using this literary device? Would this story be very different if there were no occurrences of this literary device? Why or why not? How would it change the plot?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,345 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample