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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. Why does Margo not tell the security guard about the noise and the smell she experienced in the Superstition Exhibit hall?

2. Why does Rickman refuse to allow Smithback to write about the Gilborg expedition?

3. Who is Callisto?

4. In Chapter 15, who claimed to have seen the museum creature one morning as it slunk around a corner in the basement?

5. In what way does Pendergast suggest Dr. Wright is obstructing the murder investigation?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Callisto Effect?

2. What is Margo Green working on at the Museum of Natural History? Who is her adviser?

3. What do the scientists at the independent lab tell Pendergast and D'Agosta in Chapter 23 about the DNA sample taken from the claw found in the chest of one of the victims?

4. Why is the local bar, The Blarney Stone Tavern, near the museum referred to as The Bones by museum employees?

5. In what year does Whittlesey's expedition take place? How long is this before the events depicted in the rest of the novel?

6. What does Margo smell in the Superstition Exhibit hall that frightens her? Where has the reader heard of this scent previously in the novel?

7. What effect is the murder investigation having on the Museum of Natural History's visitors and staff?

8. What does Margo Green find when she reports for work on Monday morning in Chapter 3?

9. What great find did Whittlesey make shortly after the departure of the other scientists? What does this appear to prove?

10. What began the rumor of the museum beast?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is William Smithback? What is his role in this novel? What does Smithback do for a living? Why is he at the Museum of Natural History? Why does Rickman edit his manuscript so heavily? Is this fair? Why does Smithback become involved in the murder investigation? Does the information Smithback finds help in the investigation? If so, how? Why does Margo dislike Smithback? Who else mistrusts Smithback? What does Smithback finally write in his manuscript? What does he do with the money from the book? What does this say about Smithback's overall character?

Essay Topic 2

Who is Pendergast? Where is he from? Why does he come to New York? Why does he become involved in the investigation into the murders at the museum? Does D'Agosta want Pendergast's help? Discuss the relationship between Pendergast and D'Agosta in detail. Why is Pendergast removed from the investigation? What does Pendergast do with this information? Why would Pendergast begin investigating on his own? What does Pendergast know about he creature that other investigator's refuse to believe? How did Pendergast become involved in this investigation in the first place? What does the fact that Whittlesey's cargo was stopped in New Orleans for a time have to do with Pendergast? How does Pendergast eventually kill the creature?

Essay Topic 3

There is a large amount of competition in the academic world. Discuss the competition seen in this novel. What kind of competition is involved? Who competes against who? What does Dr. Frock have to say about the competition he finds himself in? Is Margo competing with someone in this novel? If so, in what way and for what reason? What would the academic world be like without competition? How does this competition form and destroy reputations? How important is this competition to the careers of academicians?

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