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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 the death of Bishop James, who does Remingus see as his rival for the post of Prior of Kingsbridge?

2. What does King Stephen decide about the ownership of the Shiring quarry?

3. What type of death does the prisoner experience when the oxcart is pulled away?

4. What are the values of the boys who gather in the marketplace?

5. What type of people live in the homes of the town square?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tom discover when he has a change of heart and goes back to Agnes' grave to get the baby?

2. Describe the plan Philip devises to get more work done on the cathedral before the visit from Bishop Henry.

3. What is the fate of the White Ship and its passengers after it sets sail from England in 1120?

4. Describe how Tom is hired to begin repairs of Kingsbridge Cathedral and what is the condition Philip sets about Ellen?

5. What events take place when William Hamleigh goes to the castle at Shiring to claim it as his own?

6. Why does Lord William Hamleigh fire Tom from the job of building him a house?

7. What does Prior Philip have the monks of the monastery do when William Hamleigh's men will not let, Tom, the master builder of Kingsbridge, go into the quarry for stone?

8. Summarize the location and outcome of the birth of Tom's third child.

9. Summarize the actions of the townspeople before the hanging takes place.

10. What does Tom ask Ellen after she allows Tom and the children to stay in her cave, giving them food and shelter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Imagine you are an historian reading Pillars of the Earth. Would you see the story as historically accurate?

2) Use details from the story to support your answer.

3) What plot or setting descriptions would you change to make it more historically accurate?

4) Are the historical figures, such as King Henry and Thomas Beckett, depicted accurately? Support the answer with examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

1) Summarize the life of Prior Philip beginning with the death of his parents up to the point where he becomes Bishop of Kingsbridge.

2) Describe each eventful point in his life.

3) How does Philip react to each defeat and success?

4) How do his attitudes toward the church, morality, government, and his own spirituality change during the novel?

Essay Topic 3

1) Compare and contrast Waleran Bigot and Prior Philip.

2) Describe the methods each use to secure their futures.

3) How do their methods differ? Which of the two men employ the most effective methods for a prosperous future?

4) Cite examples from the novel of the methods of the two men and the results.

5) Which man's approach to a situation had more prosperous and lasting results at the end of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 853 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample