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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 does Merriman accuse Will of doing every spring at Huntercombe Manor?

2. What does Merriman tell Will about the signs and the Dark?

3. Where has the Lady gone when she vanishes?

4. Why is Will disappointed about his birthday?

5. What happens to the radio station when Will walks by it after getting home from his walk with James?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the importance of the third sign?

2. What is odd about Hawkins?

3. How does the author demonstrate that something strange is happening to Will?

4. Why are the tapestries important to Will?

5. What is the importance of music in the Midwinter Day section of the novel?

6. Why is the Rider unable to take the Walker and Will?

7. What is the importance of the words of the carol that Merriman sings during Will and his family's caroling?

8. In what ways does Mr. Dawson provide clues to both Will and the reader that Will is more than he seems and that things are going to be different for Will?

9. What is the significance of the fat lady's comments about the weather?

10. How does Will try to warn Old George Dawson about Maggie being an agent of the Dark?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how the Rider embodies the villain archetype and how his actions are typical of villains in fantasy novels.

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of Miss Greythorne in the story? Compare her role to that of the Lady.

Essay Topic 3

The Signs are instrumental to Will's mission and to the Old Ones' attempt to keep the Dark from rising. Define the importance of each sign's origins (wood, iron, bronze, fire, etc.) and their elemental significance.

(see the answer keys)

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