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. What does Kin do with Jago's forgery?

2. Which of the following best characterizes the Kung?

3. Why does Silver agree to go on the expedition?

4. The Company's treatments can extend human life for at least how long?

5. Why does Jago try to force Marco and Silver from the ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence does Jago produce to back up his claims about the flat planet?

2. What is unusual about the raven's behavior as the group prepares to leave Kung?

3. What is Marco's background, and what does he believe about himself?

4. What are some of the technological resources that the group has at their disposal, and how will these things help them?

5. What is learned about Jago during Silver and Marco's first encounter with him face-to-face?

6. What do Kin and the others do with Jago after he dies? What do they plan to do with him in the future?

7. What does a watcher do, and what is required of a watcher?

8. Who were the Spindle Kings, and what were they like?

9. According to Joel, what are the consequences of the forgery of day bills? What does Joel do as a result?

10. What are Shand proteins, and how are they important to Silver?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Terry Pratchett is an author known for his unusual sense of humor, and humorous events often play a critical role in his novels.

Part 1) Describe the general presence and use of humor in the novel. What dramatic purpose does it generally serve?

Part 2) What are some examples of humorous characters or situations that serve no other purpose than to be entertaining? Do these sections contribute in a positive way to the general mood and tone of the story?

Part 3) Describe some humorous characters or situations which drive the plot forward in important ways, or at important times. How does the use of humor affect these situations?

Essay Topic 2

Exploration is a major theme of the novel. Alongside creation, it is presented as one of the defining characteristics of intelligence species. Exploration initiates and ends the story.

Part 1) Outline the importance of exploration in the novel. In what ways does it affect the storyline?

Part 2) Which characters are affected by the drive for exploration? Does it have a positive or negative impact on them?

Part 3) How is the drive for exploration presented as an important feature of intelligent life?

Part 4) How does exploration in this story relate to the concept of creation?

Essay Topic 3

Arthur C. Clarke once said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Technology plays an important part in driving the story, and it affects many situations and characters. The technology that Kin and the others possess is miraculous to the inhabitants of the flat planet. In turn, the technology that runs the planet is miraculous to Kin and the others.

Part 1) Explain the significance of Clarke's quotation about technology to this story. Does the author seem to be aware of this concept? How does that awareness affect the setting?

Part 2) In what major ways does technology play a role in the story? How would these elements of the story be impossible without this highly advanced technology?

Part 3) How does the technology that Kin and the others possess appear to the inhabitants of the flat planet, and how do they react to it?

Part 4) How does the technology that runs the flat planet appear to Kin and the others? How do they react to it, and how does it affect them?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,023 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample