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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 Waleran Bigod set up a meeting with Prior Philip?

2. What question does Tom ask Ellen after staying with her for a time?

3. What does Prior Philip have the monks do when they go to the quarry?

4. What does Philip decide to do with the baby that Francis brought to the monastery?

5. What does Aliena buy to start up her wool business?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does Tom first meet Ellen and her son, Jack?

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

7. Describe the business that Aliena begins when she gets the money her father left for her and Richard with a priest in Winchester?

8. What is the deal that Archdeacon Waleran makes with Philip after the death of Prior James, the Prior of Kingsbridge?

9. What is the secret compromise that Philip proposes to the Hamleighs about the forests and quarry in Shiring and how does this affect his relationship with Waleran?

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) Analyze the structure of the novel.

2) What is the central conflict that is carried forward through each part of the novel?

3) Summarize the plot's climax and resolution.

4) Are the characterizations in the story realistic?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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