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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 device does Wili find hidden among his possessions after he leaves Kaladze's camp?

2. How does Della feel about the security at the station where Paul and the others have been stopped?

3. How does the Authority react to the floating bobble that Wili created?

4. Allison says that before the bobbles, mankind was close to achieving what major technological goal?

5. Avery warns that which of the following is imminent?

Short Essay Questions

1. What fears do Mike and Allison express when the group returns to Paul's home?

2. What important bobbles does Paul say are due to collapse soon?

3. Why does Avery believe the Tinkers should be wiped out?

4. What happens during Della's attack on the pass?

5. Why are Paul and the others stopped on the road to the Authority enclave?

6. How and why do Mike and Wili demonstrate their new bobble generator?

7. Why does Wili decide to trust Mike?

8. Why does Wili lose contact with Jill during the final approach to the embobbling position?

9. How does Wili manipulate Della and Mike while they are at the demonstration of the power generator?

10. Why does Wili embobble the tenement building during the hottest part of the day?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul recognizes quickly that Wili has a deep love of knowledge, a trait that connects them, and which allows Wili's capabilities to grow rapidly under Paul's tutelage. This passion is a critical element of the story and plays an important role in the denouement.

1) Explain how Paul recognizes Wili's love for knowledge, and why this trait interests him.

2) Discuss the impact of this trait on Wili's development and studies; explain how it positions him to take over for Paul later in the novel.

3) Describe some of the other characters and groups who share this trait, and discuss how they are presented in the novel. Is a love of knowledge presented as a universal good, a mixed good, or in a neutral light?

4) Explain the importance some characters predict, near the end of the novel, that the love of knowledge will have.

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

Project Renaissance begins as a fall back plan created in the face of an uncertain threat from the Tinkers. However, Avery's increasing paranoia cause him to attempt to trigger this doomsday plan with little provocation.

1) Describe Project Renaissance. What is its purpose, and what would its launch involve? What would be the impact of this plan on the world?

2) Discuss the Authority's general willingness to fall back on Renaissance. Why do some Authority figures believe it will not be necessary, and why do some of them believe it should not be enacted in any case?

3) Explain Avery's decision to launch Renaissance. According to the information he had available, how justified was this decision? Explain the forces that compelled him to make this decision, and what unknown factors could have swayed his decision one way or another.

(see the answer keys)

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