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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. When did the tenders and biddies in the Creedish Church have to leave the colony?

2. How long are Tender's brother and his brother's wife in the outside world?

3. What flight did the main character hijack?

4. What does "phone Tender" initially tell Fertility she has to do before he can meet her in person?

5. What does the caseworker use while helping at Tender's employers' house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the exchange between the pilot and Tender Branson before the pilot leaves the hijacked plane?

2. What is the discussion between Tender and his caseworker after he believes he has taken a call from the killer of the Creedish survivors? Why does she tell him not to worry?

3. How does naming or rank work in the Creedish Church culture?

4. What is Tender's strategy for his first "date" with Fertility and a possible relationship with her?

5. What do Fertility and Tender do on their third date after they get off of the bus?

6. What does Tender reveal is the practice for the tenders and biddies before they go out into the real world? What do they do in preparation?

7. What method does Tender employ to teach the couple how to eat the lobster, and what does he discover as he is eating it?

8. Why is Adam allowed to get married while Tender is sent out into the world to work?

9. After the agent arranges to pick Tender up, what does Tender call Fertility from the plane to ask her and what is her response?

10. When Tender asks Fertility about the guy that she met in the cemetery, what thoughts and observations does she share about him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author has an interesting approach to naming his characters. Discuss the significance of names in the novel. Include in your explanation the naming structure of the Creedish, the lack of names for the Creedish children, the lack of names for the caseworker and the agent and the irony of Fertility's name. What effect do these names, or lack thereof, have in the novel? Why did the author choose to name his characters in this manner?

Essay Topic 2

Who is your favorite secondary character in the novel and why? What is their relationship with Tender? What does this character add or take away from the novel? What happens to this character in the end of the novel? Does this character grow or evolve over the course of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

As Tender becomes a "religious celebrity" he is placed in the hands of PR and marketing teams whose job it is to sell Tender as a product to the masses. Shortly after, the teams come up with every product under the sun exploiting Tender and the Creedish faith, including a fake bible, dashboard statuettes, television shows, diets and board games. Discuss the idea of selling religion to people. What did the agent and the PR and marketing teams hope to accomplish by selling Tender as a product? Were they just in it to make money? What does their success say about the masses of people who bought into their product? How is this relevant in the real world?

(see the answer keys)

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