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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. Whom does Sister demand to see in Mary's Rest?

2. Where does Dr. Hugh Ryan agree to take Sister and Paul?

3. Where does Roland find Brother Timothy and the slain Savior?

4. What is the name of the person whom Roland visits in the American Allegiance?

5. How is Roland tested for disease when he visits the American Allegiance?

Short Essay Questions

1. What thoughts haunt Roland?

2. What bothers Swan about the dead child at the lake?

3. What happens between Swan and the evil man at the apple truck?

4. What is revealed when Swan's mask falls off?

5. Explain the interaction Swan has with the Moodys' apple tree.

6. What is Sister's mission, and what signs guide her on the way?

7. What is the relationship between Roland and Friend?

8. What does Macklin think of what his Job's Mask has done to his face?

9. How has the Army of Excellence evolved since the events of Book One?

10. How does Swan defeat Friend in the end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After the nuclear blasts, people try to recover and form new communities. The people in these settlements are often just at the brink of survival and are extremely wary of losing their precarious position. The communities are small and poor. Their suffering is still widespread.

1) Discuss how settlements and communities form in the time after the blasts. What resources cause communities to gather at particular points?

2) Explain the economies and social arrangements in post-blast communities.

3) Use specific examples from the book to explain ways in which residents of these communities deal with outsiders and potential threats.

Essay Topic 2

Macklin is a troubled and deeply flawed man.

1) Describe Macklin's background and personality.

2) Explain Macklin's relationship with and dependency on the Shadow Soldier.

3) Discuss how and why Macklin feels guilt for his actions and how he is able to overcome this guilt.

4) Explain why Macklin experiences a moral shift near the end of the novel and turns against Roland and Friend.

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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