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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 was growing in the field on the island?

2. What is the name of the barge that will take the boys to the games?

3. What do caps do to humans?

4. What do they decide to do about steering the raft?

5. Who did Will have to kill while he, Henry, and Beanpole were traveling?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the boys want to win in their sporting event?

2. What does Will not want to do for the games and how did he get to White Mountain?

3. How do Will and Beanpole get food as they walk and what idea does Beanpole have about getting food? How did that work out for them?

4. How do the boys get away from the man?

5. What do the boys do when they wake up and what does Hans show them?

6. What does the person the boys see do and what do they ask him?

7. Since the boys arrive at the dock early what do they do?

8. What does Beanpole convince Moritz to do?

9. Where do the boys end up when they get to shore? What is different about the man there and how does he feel about the boys being there?

10. What does Beanpole think might have happened because the barge was gone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Will discovers that the atmosphere is difficult for humans and the air completely incompatible with human life. This causes humans to suffer and age quickly, making them unable to survive inside the city for very long, which might suggest why no one has ever come out of the Tripod cities. It also does not bode well for Will and Fritz who have just become slaves to alien Masters.

1. Slavery has been in existence since the earliest records of humans. Discuss the disadvantages of slavery to a society and to a culture as a whole.

2. Discuss the advantages of slavery to those in power and (possibly will need research) why slavery became a part of human civilizations.

3. Discuss the symbolism between the air the Tripods breath being incompatible with human life and the fact that the Tripods' presence on earth have created a world of slaves who are under absolute control. Illustrate your statements with details from the text.

Essay Topic 2

At the conclusion of a novel, most readers either consciously or unconsciously engage in processing the book and usually come to a conclusion as to whether they like the book or not. Discuss one of the following:

1. Would you consider THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD a "good" book? Why or why not? Use examples to illustrate your stance.

2. What do you think are the elements of an outstanding novel? Analyze one of your favorite novels to see if those elements are present.

3. What are some reasons you might consider a novel a failure? Analyze a novel you think is a failure and see if those elements are in that novel.

Essay Topic 3

Loyalty is demonstrated in a number of ways, as is the lack of loyalty. Beanpole demonstrates his loyalty to Will several times in THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD. Discuss the following:

1. How do you define loyalty? Is the ability and desire to be loyal an admirable trait in humans? Why or why not? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being loyal to a person? Cause? Country? Idea? What of those who are loyal to something no matter what they learn about that person, thing, ideal, country, etc... -in other words, blind loyalty.

2. Discuss and analyze why you think Beanpole is loyal to Will. Is it warranted? Wise? Earned? What other instances of loyalty occur in The City of Gold and Lead? Is the way Will feels about the human race and freeing the world a form of loyalty?

3. What other admirable traits besides loyalty occur in THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD? Discuss fully two of those traits with specific examples.

(see the answer keys)

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