View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Carl Hollywood meets with Lord Finkle-McGraw after joining which phyle?

2. Madame Ping explains that members of the New Atlantis phyle have what sort of fantasies?

3. When Carl Hollywood meets with Lord Finkle-McGraw, what does Lord Finkle-McGraw say regarding Elizabeth?

4. Which of the three girls who possess original Primers is the first to leave the Academy?

5. After learning from Lord Finkle-McGraw that Hackworth is safe, what does Gwendolyn decide to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Three Girls Go Exploring," what is Gwendolyn's emotional state when she learns that Hackworth is not in any danger?

2. In "From the Primer, Princess Nell's Activities as Duchess of Turing," how does Princess Nell become the Duchess of Turing?

3. In "Final Onslaught of the Fists," what message does Carl Hollywood receive from the government, and how does he carry out that request?

4. In "From the Primer, Princess Nell Crosses the Trail of the Enigmatic Mouse Army," when grown-up Nell visits her ailing brother, Harv, what message does he share with her?

5. In "Nell's Life at Dovetail," why is Nell not allowed to live with the other girls at Miss Matheson's Academy of the Three Graces?

6. In "Hackworth Awakes from a Dream," after waking from his dream of multiple sexual encounters and traveling back through the underwater tunnels, what clues does Hackworth find to indicate the passage of time?

7. Part Two of the novel opens with what sort of bizarre ritual?

8. In "Nell Goes to Madame Ping's Theatre," what brings Nell to the conclusion that the wall between reality and fiction is fragile?

9. In "Carl Hollywood's Activities at the Parnasse," why is Miranda so interested in the technical aspects of the Primer's interactive features?

10. In "Miranda Receives an Unusual Ractive Message," what scheme does she enter into?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what ways do the social and environmental issues described in "The Diamond Age" mirror our own?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the various methods of sharing data as portrayed in the novel. Include discussions of the Feed, the Seed, the Drummer ritual, and the Primers.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the impact that the three interactive Primers had on Nell, Elizabeth, and Fiona. How did the Primers affect their important life-decisions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 942 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample