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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. How did Kin acquire the object she uses to heal the injured locals?

2. What do some of the characters come to suspect about the flat planet soon after rescuing Kin?

3. What did Kin do that contributed to her being arrested by the locals?

4. What do the locals want to do with Kin?

5. Soon after rescuing Kin, the group discovers what kind of a structure?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Marco's plan, and what do Kin and Silver think about it?

2. What do the explorers come to believe about the machinery of the planet?

3. What is unusual about the stars seen from the flat planet?

4. What do Kin and Marco resolve to do until Shand proteins can be found for Silver?

5. How do Kin's feelings about the Company begin to change soon after the dumbwaiter is destroyed?

6. Why does Kin refuse to believe that the Company could have created the flat planet?

7. What do the locals intend to do with Kin, and how is this prevented?

8. What is unusual about the first island that Kin and the others come to after leaving the sailors' homeland? What danger does the group face there?

9. How does the group confirm that they are being followed?

10. What does the group discover at the ship's crash-site?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of the novel, it is revealed that the planet must be managed and maintained by the action of a human operator, the "Disc Master," who controls the machinery of the planet and manages its day to day activity. It is a position of huge responsibility that Kin accepts at the end of the story.

Part 1) Explain who the Disc Master is and why he is necessary for the planet's operation. Why would the planet's creators incorporate this feature into the planet's design?

Part 2) Describe what the Disc Master's usual duties might be on a day to day basis. What unusual types of situations would call for special care?

Part 3) Kin eventually accepts the role of Disc Master. Would this be an easy thing for most people to accept? What qualities would make a person a good candidate for becoming the Disc Master? Will Kin make a good Disc Master?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

There are many examples of characters attempting and succeeding in taking revenge in this novel. It is a major theme that causes important changes within characters and drives the plot forward at important points.

Part 1) Which characters attempt or succeed in taking revenge in the novel? What are their motivations? Are they justified in their intentions?

Part 2) How do these actions affect and change these characters? Do they come to regret their actions?

Part 3) What can be said about the overall impact of the desire for revenge in the novel? In general, is it helpful or destructive? If one or more cases are exceptions to this general rule, explain their nature and importance.

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