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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 Sheffield tell Foyle that Foyle has done that no one else ever has?

2. What happens to those who enter the Skoptsy Colony?

3. Who is meeting in the Swiss chalet at the Aussie Cannery on New Year's?

4. How much does the Four Mile Circus cost?

5. What is the Four Mile Circus?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Olivia's response to the bombardment that takes place during the New Year's Eve party?

2. What is the nature of the discussion in the Star Chamber in Chapter 14?

3. What does Robin do regarding Foyle at the opening of Chapter 12, and what secret of hers is made known?

4. What is the nature of the surgery Foyle had after the recovery of the treasure from the Nomad?

5. What truth does Sheffield reveal to Foyle at the Four Mile Circus?

6. Who does Foyle kidnap on Mars? Describe Foyle's victim.

7. Describe a sympathetic block.

8. What is Foyle's relationship with Steve Forrest, and where does Foyle find Forrest?

9. Describe Geoffrey Fourmyle.

10. How does Foyle find out about Lindsey Joyce, and what does he learn about Joyce at the end of Chapter 12?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Y'ang-Yeovil appears on the Spanish Steps in Rome masquerading as Angelo Poggi, a crewmember on board the Vorga. Foyle is masquerading as Fourmyle. Another theme in the book is that of deception. Identify and discuss other examples of personal deception in the book. Consider, too, how entire classes of people might be practicing deception. for example, how the wealthy try to impress their peers by traveling in flashy, ancient modes of transportation.

Essay Topic 2

PyrE is what Alfred Hitchcock used to call the "McGuffin," that one item in a story that all the characters seek, and upon which much of the plot pivots. While PryE is on its surface an explosive, it is, in the context of the novel, much more. Discuss the symbolic nature of PyrE, what it might represent on an allegorical level, and the significance of how it is detonated by the thought and the will. Consider both the thought and the will as characters in the book, and the role these abstract notions play.

Essay Topic 3

Early in the book, Foyle, who is stranded on board the spaceship Nomad, manages to escape the ship after being bypassed (he thinks) by the crew of the Vorga. He finds himself among the Scientific People. The Scientific People tattoo him with tiger-like markings and with the name, Nomad, across his forehead. Discuss how those markings are an externalization of his internal crisis, his drive for revenge on the Vorga, and the significance of the name Nomad apart from it being the name of his spaceship. What is Foyle's chief motivation for his actions while with the Scientific People?

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