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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. Where does Avery believe the blast that shattered the bobble originated?

2. Allison and Angus realize that which of the following is likely to draw attention?

3. What item does Angus pick up as he recovers from the crash?

4. What is Della's mission?

5. What does Della say the Authority intends to do with the Tinkers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Paul's physical and personality characteristics.

2. How and why did the Red Arrow Battalion settle in America?

3. Describe the symptoms of the illness that overcomes Wili during the first winter he spends with Paul.

4. How do Paul's and Mile's assessments of Wili's illness differ?

5. How does Wili perform at the chess tournament, and what disadvantage does he face?

6. What is unusual about the guests Paul receives at his house?

7. What does Red Arrow Industries produce?

8. What are Paul's reasons for accepting Wili as an apprentice?

9. What types of advanced technology does Paul introduce to Wili?

10. How did Wili's parent's react when they discovered his illness?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Authority is a world-spanning organization that maintains control over most of the globe through aggressive use of the bobbles, which it has exclusive access to. Although it ostensibly exists to maintain peace throughout the world, it also causes a considerable amount of human suffering and carries out various immoral acts.

1) Discuss what the Authority is, and how it came to power. Explain its organization, goals, and resources.

2) Describe the ways the Authority harms humanity through its restrictions on technology and its aggressive maintenance of the peace.

3) Explain how the Authority is able to maintain public support for its rule, despite its despotic activities and harsh restrictions.

Essay Topic 2

Avery, the leader of the Authority in its base of power, the west coast of the United States, begins the novel as a suspicious but effective leader. As events progress, he slowly looses his grasp on sanity, and it becomes clear he has allowed his obsessions to get the better of him.

1) Discuss Avery as a character and a leader. What are his most important defining traits, what makes him an effective leader, and how did he come to a position of power within the Authority?

2) Describe the obsessions that plague Avery and how he struggles with them. Cite examples of Avery either overcoming or being defeated by these obsessions and describe how these events affect his psyche.

3) Explain Avery's final descent into madness, its causes, and its effects on the final conflict with the Tinkers.

Essay Topic 3

The final chapters of the book center around the final conflict between the Tinkers and the Authority. After Paul and the others are discovered, a large battle ensues, raging in the area around the Authority enclave for multiple days.

1) Briefly explain the events leading up to the final conflict between the Tinkers and the Authority and the reasons both sides have for engaging in the conflict.

2) Discuss the major advantages both sides bring to the battle, including factors such as intelligence, planning, numbers, and technology.

3) Describe the course of the battle, including its major events and resolution.

(see the answer keys)

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