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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. Colonel Macklin is encouraged by a mysterious entity that he calls __________.

2. What does Doyle Halland emerge from to find and join SIster's group?

3. Doyle believes that Sister's group is being affected by what?

4. What do Alvin's followers do to Josh?

5. What does Artie dream of when he uses the glass ring?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sister decide to continue to Kansas?

2. Describe the problem that occurs at Earth House just after the nuclear attacks begin.

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

4. What decision does Josh make while he and the others are sleeping in the barn, and what is its significance?

5. What happens to the leadership of the American government shortly after the nuclear attacks begin?

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

7. What does "the man who likes movies" want when he is at the Empire State Theatre, and how does he get it?

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

9. How do Roland, Macklin, and Warner plan to gain access to Earth House's emergency stores? How successful is their plan?

10. What new power does Swan exhibit for the first time while Josh digs out from PawPaw's shelter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many people and artifacts exhibit miraculous powers throughout the novel. It is clear that after the blasts, the world has changed in some fundamental ways. Magical or divine powers are present in the world and commonplace in the narrative of the protagonists.

1) Discuss the individuals who are known to demonstrate supernatural powers. Speculate as to where and how these powers might originate.

2) Explain some of the artifacts that are known to possess supernatural powers. Where do these objects originate? Were they mundane before the blasts? What imbued them with power?

3) Describe some of the ways that these miraculous powers affect the plot of the novel. Explain situations wherein they were critical to the story. Explain other important situations where they were merely incidental, and the focus of the story is on the people and their interactions, feelings, or emotions.

Essay Topic 2

Forgiveness is an essential component of the plot from the beginning of the novel through to the very end. It is a critical element of the goodness that Swan shares with the world and allows her to change people, to heal communities, and to triumph effortlessly over evil.

1) Explain how Swan demonstrates her capacity for forgiveness throughout the novel, citing specific examples.

2) Discuss the way that other characters perceive the act of forgiveness. What does Sister believe about forgiveness? How is her belief denied or confirmed in the plot?

3) What impact does forgiveness have on Friend? How does Swan use this, without exerting any effort, to defeat Friend at every encounter?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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