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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. How does Tom get hired to make repairs on Kingsbridge Cathedral?

2. How do the young maidens feel about the prisoner?

3. What transpires when Tom and his quarrymen arrive at the quarry to start getting stone?

4. What does the condemned man look like?

5. What happens when Aliena tries to sell her fleeces at the market?

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. What is Tom Builder's greatest passion in life?

3. When the condemned man dies, what is the reaction of the young pregnant girl to whom he was singing?

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

5. 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?

6. What is the favorite pastime of the young boys who gather early in the marketplace?

7. What happens when Tom asks the master builder of a cathedral in Salisbury if he can have a job?

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

9. How do Aliena and Richard escape from the castle?

10. What is the reaction of the townspeople as the man is led to the gallows?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Compare the characters of Aliena and Richard.

2) Which character gives more to their relationship? Explain using examples from the novel.

3) How do their views differ on life, responsibilities, marriage, and duty?

4) Which character is more realistic in his or her view of life? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

1) Interpret the feelings Aliena and Jack have for each other when they begin their relationship.

2) Are their emotions authentic? Are they truthful with each other?

3) Compare these emotions with how they interact later in the novel, after they become parents of two children.

4) What regrets do they have as their relationship progresses through the novel?

5) How does their relationship differ from the first part of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

1) Compare and contrast the characters of Richard and William Hamleigh.

2) Summarize the impact each character has on one another.

3) How is each character realistic in their struggles to attain the earldom?

4) Is Richard or William more effective in their methods of requiring Shiring?

5) Cite examples from the novel to support the answer.

(see the answer keys)

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