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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. What is the name of a female heroine in the Hills?

2. What does Richard want from Harry?

3. Who does Sir Charles have on hand who knows Hill speech?

4. How many ways does Mathin show her to make fire?

5. How did the Homelanders obtain Istan?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mathin tell Harry about Forloy, and what does Harry realize about her knowledge of Hill culture?

2. What does Mathin show her about fire, what can he not teach her and why and what do they do after Harry's sixth week of training?

3. Where is Harry sent to live, why does she go there, who is she going to live with and what is her new home like?

4. Why is Mathin a rider and why is he training Harry?

5. What is Corlath feeling as he leaves the Residency, and what is having to do as he is leaving and why?

6. What does the group talk about when Beth and Cassie join Harry, how does Harry learn more about Hillfolk, and why is Jack included in the dinner with their king?

7. What are Jack's hopes about Corlath?

8. How do those who grew up in Istan feel about the environment, and what does Harry discover about Jack and Istan?

9. What does Harry do after dinner, and what does Corlath think as he looks at Harry?

10. Why do the girls decide to return to Harry's home and what do they find there? What is strange about it to them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think "The Blue Sword" is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

Essay Topic 2

Harry begins the novel as a displaced woman who has been sent to another part of the country to live with non-relatives upon the death of her father. She does not fit in well with the people around her, and though she adapts to her new circumstances, she seems to be basically drifting through life. By the end of the novel, in a very short time, Harry is a powerful, respected person who has become the queen of her great-grandmother's people -- people she never knew she was related to at the beginning of the novel.

1. Do you think the time frame of the huge changes in Harry's life are the least bit realistic? Why or why not? Use examples from "The Blue Sword" and your own life to support your answer.

2. Harry is kidnapped and taken to another culture without her consent, yet in a short time, she is learning to ride and fight and then, in a few weeks she manages to win a riding-fighting contest against people who have been practicing these skills all their lives. Do you think it is too much a stretch of the imagination for Harry to be able to win the laprun with such little time to learn the skills and does this lessen your enjoyment of the book? Why or why not? Use examples from "The Blue Sword" and your own life to support your answer.

3. What do you think it suggests about Harry's character that she is able to almost immediately care for the man who kidnapped her, setting aside her anger within days? Use examples from "The Blue Sword" and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast the characters of Corlath and Sir Charles. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.

2. Compare/contrast the characters of Harry and Amelia. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?

3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in "The Blue Sword" help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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