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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. Which of the following does Sophie note is the name of her best friend?

2. From which of the following statues does Machiavelli speak to Flamel and his group at Sacré-Coeur?

3. As which of the following does Sophie gloss the term “ying lung” (64)?

4. In which of the following years is Flamel reportedly born?

5. Which of the following is cited in an objection to Machiavelli’s lockdown order?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reason does Scathach cite for not experiencing jet lag?

2. What does Machiavelli note about his most recent encounter with Scathach before the events of the novel?

3. When introduced, how is Dagon described?

4. How does Scathach explain her sobriquet “Shadow” (100)?

5. What effects does Josh suffer from the sudden flight from Sacré-Coeur?

6. What reasons does Dagon give for remaining in Machiavelli’s service?

7. What reasons does Scathach voice for separating the Newmans when they split up en route to the Eiffel Tower?

8. How does the novel articulate the difference between a tulpa and a golem?

9. What reasons does Scathach voice for doubting whether help will be available for Flamel?

10. What linguistic ambitions does Sophie note to Scathach?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following passage:

“Those are just names,” Scathach muttered, sounding embarrassed.

“They sound like more than names,” Sophie pressed. “They sound like titles…titles you’ve earned?” she persisted.

“Well, I’ve had lots of names,” Scathach said, “names my friends gave me, named my foes called me” (100).

What is the difference between a name and a title? What in the novel and in experience support the distinction? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

Online commentaries note that the reliance of YA on teenage protagonists is, in some senses, an indictment of the adults present in YA literature. For what do the adults in The Magician deserve indictment, as indicated by the novel? How does the novel indicate the indictment is deserved?

Essay Topic 3

Sophie and Josh are presented as deuteragonists in the novel. Which of them is, in fact, the primary character? What in the text and its contexts suggests that s/he is? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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