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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. After leaving Dr. X to travel to Shanghai, who does Hackworth find himself riding with?

2. What theatrical company is performing on the barge that Hackworth and Fiona board?

3. When Nell leaves the Academy, into what area does she travel?

4. At the end of the novel, how does Nell rescue Miranda from the Drummers?

5. From a park in Vancouver, Hackworth follows a mysterious woman where?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "From the Primer, Princess Nell Enters into the Lands of King Coyote," how does Princess Nell lose her last two remaining magical friends?

2. In "Peculiar Practices in the Woods," what does Hackworth explain to his daughter regarding the activities of CryptNet?

3. In the final scene of the novel when Nell rescues Miranda from the Drummers, how are various subplots tied together into one cohesive whole?

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

5. What are the three Graces taught at the Academy, and which Grace gives the students the most trouble?

6. In "Carl Hollywood Returns to Shanghai," what is the significance of his efforts to connect Miranda to the other information he has gathered?

7. In "A New Friend," what does the red-headed woman explain to Nell and Harv about the activities of the citizens of Dovetail?

8. In "Orphans of the Han...," what does Judge Fang observe when he gives a young Han girl a copy of the Primer?

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

10. In "Carl Hollywood's Hack," how do Carl Hollywood's activities in a teahouse begin to tie together the various main characters and plots in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the primary theme of "The Diamond Age"? Is the author more of a Confucian or Victorian at heart? What lesson would Neal Stephenson wish readers to take with them after reading his work?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the motives of Lord Finkle-McGraw and Hackworth in working to procure Primers for the little girls they love.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the fabric Harv found by the sea and brought home to examine with Nell. How is the woven fabric a metaphor for the Confucian lifestyle? How is the low-quality plastic fabric created by matter compilers representative of the Thete lifestyle? Discuss the irony of the Victorians' preference for handmade woven fabric over that created by matter compilers.

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