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. Avery insists the Renaissance will be the end of what?

2. What does Della do while she is out on a walk with Mike?

3. What kind of a compound is the Authority enclave built into?

4. How well does Wiki interact with Paul's computer?

5. What does Paul think will happen to the bobbles in the coming years?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Wili predict where the embobbled tenement building will go?

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

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

5. How does Mike betray Della?

6. Why does Kaladze say Wili should trust Mike?

7. How does Della and Mike's relationship change while they are at Kaladze's camp?

8. Why does Mike contact Della, and what information is exchanged?

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

10. What is Wili's assessment of the situation with Mike and Della?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Della is a skilled operative and military leader for the Authority and initially appears willing to do anything to carry out her mission to capture Paul Hoehler. However, her sentiments change and more details about her personality are revealed; she eventually betrays the Authority in stop project Renaissance.

1) Describe Della's position within the Authority and make an assessment of her capabilities and loyalties.

2) Explain how Della uses Mike, and speculate as to whether or not Mike's morals affect her.

3) Discuss Della's progression as a character, particularly her distaste for killing, and her decision to betray the Authority. What are her reasons for this drastic action?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 980 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample