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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 do Roland and Macklin plan to dig for the resource they want to retrieve from Earth House?

2. What do Josh and Swan discover that they believe might lead them to the surface?

3. Sister's group passes through what tunnel as they flee Manhattan?

4. The men who rescue sister's group ride what kind of a vehicle?

5. After the collapse, Macklin worries about what resource within Earth House?

Short Essay Questions

1. What special powers does the glass ring exhibit as Sister and her group begin to use it?

2. Describe the game that Alvin and his followers force Josh to play.

3. What are Macklin's first actions as the new ruler of the Salt Lake settlement?

4. What does Doyle do to the members of Sister's group and why?

5. How does Sister Creep react to seeing the Spanish woman's dead child?

6. What is unusual about the fight that Josh engages in in Chapter 2?

7. What does Roland do during his family's initial visit to Earth House that demonstrates that he is reckless and insensitive?

8. Describe Sister Creep's reaction when she emerges from the subway tunnels.

9. What unusual abilities does Swan seem to possess?

10. What is the state of the survivors in PawPaw's shelter at the end of Chapter 17?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Roland is one of the primary antagonists of the novel. A deeply flawed child at the beginning of the story, Roland only degrades from his initial position of extreme moral deprivation. When Friend, a supernatural being of pure evil who may be an embodiment of the devil himself, encounters Roland, he describes it like looking into a mirror.

1) Explain who Roland is and how he became an important player in the post-blast world.

2) Discuss Roland's moral flaws, including their origins and impacts on him, and the lowest depths to which Roland is willing to sink.

3) Explain the ways that Roland is able to deal with the violence he causes and sees around him and how he justifies his own works. Explain how the King's Knight game plays into this belief system.

4) Explain why Roland needs a strong figure, such as Macklin or Friend, to follow.

5) Track Roland's descent throughout the novel to the point when he asks to follow Friend and is rejected.

Essay Topic 2

Near the end of the novel, Friend admits that his goal is to destroy the human spirit.

1) Explain what is meant by the human spirit in the context of the novel.

2) Explain why Friend wants to destroy the human spirit and the world that would exist if he succeeded.

3) Discuss ways that the human spirit is degraded or strengthened throughout the novel, and explain how these ends are achieved.

4) Describe Swan's impact on the strength of the human spirit in other individuals and communities.

Essay Topic 3

In the post-blast setting, trust is extended rarely, but its effects are sometimes profoundly important. Due to the lawlessness and brutality of the world around them, few survivors can trust one another, but they must learn to do so in order to survive. Groups like Macklin's army are built around fear and discipline, but groups like Sister's and Swan's, or even the survivor settlements like Homewood and Mary's Rest, are all founded on trust.

1) Discuss the difficulties that people have in trusting each other in this setting. Why is lack of trust a reasonable reaction?

2) Explain some examples of how trust develops between individuals and within groups. Describe some of the benefits that the survivors gain by trusting each other.

3) Describe at least one example of when trust failed to develop, and all parties involved suffered as a result.

4) Explain how trust drives the story forward at various points.

5) Explain why trust is still slow to develop and difficult to maintain, despite its benefits.

(see the answer keys)

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