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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. Becoming a watcher requires what sacrifice?

2. Without day credits, employees of the Company would suffer what effects?

3. After the explorers and the sailors are attacked during the trip to the sailor's homeland, Kin draws what conclusion about the attackers?

4. The Spindle Kings were believed to have created new planets for what purpose?

5. Marco shows the native people how to use the dumbwaiter by helping them program it to make what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Kin and the others help the sailors who try to visit them?

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

3. How did the strata machine chance human history?

4. What are Kin's interests, outside of her work?

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

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

7. Describe Silver's appearance and personality. Why is she interested in the flat planet?

8. Describe the explorers first interactions with the inhabitants of the flat planet.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The raven is a large unknown in the novel. Its nature is never fully explained. It is certainly not a normal raven, since it can burn through a metal cage, appear to be intelligent, and can keep up with Kin and the others as they fly across the flat planet. It could easily have been built by the creators of the flat planet, since it is not obviously more advanced than other robotic constructions that the explorers discover on the planet. However, it was given as a "gift" to Jago on the distant Kung, making its origins mysterious.

Part 1) What is known about the raven? How does it join the group, and what are its apparent motives? What are its known or probable capabilities?

Part 2) Explore the mission of the raven. At the end of the novel, was that mission a failure or a success?

Part 3) Speculate as to what group created the raven, and why.

Part 4) How is the raven connected to Kin and the others, and what will its creators do with it now?

Essay Topic 2

"The Hero's Journey," a collection of archetypal story elements, was suggested by Joseph Campbell as an explanatory tool for understanding storytelling. The structure of this novel demonstrates several of Campbell's archetypes.

Part 1) Explain Campbell's "Hero's Journey." Could the author have been aware of this concept, and does it appear to have informed his writing?

Part 2) Discuss ways in which elements of the plot correspond to stages from the hero's journey. Explain each stage that applies and cite the section from the book that corresponds to it, giving examples and a full explanation of the correspondence.

Part 3) Discuss stages of the hero's journey that are not present in the novel. Are these omissions demanded by the plot? Would the story have been significantly enhanced by the addition of any particular archetype?

Essay Topic 3

The concept of loyalty is important in the story. It affects Kin most of all, since she has immense loyalty to the Company and has reasons to begin questioning them.

Part 1) What is the nature of loyalty, and how is it seen in this book? How do the characters develop loyalty?

Part 2) How and why do characters betray or question their loyalty?

Part 3) What important roles does loyalty play in the storyline? What does it illustrate about the characters that it affects? How would the book be different and potentially less interesting if these complex loyalties were not present, or did not develop?

(see the answer keys)

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