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. What reason did Kelenli give when the tuners asked why she laughed at people's fear of her?

2. Who does Hoa credit with destroying Syl Anagist?

3. Who controls the contaminated Guardians that attack Nassun at Found Moon?

4. How does the vehimal propel itself after Nassun summons it?

5. Who is the one person that Nassun says she would regret destroying with the Obelisk Gate?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Schaffa explain his cruelty towards the orogenes when he and Nassun discuss the issue on their way to the Station?

2. Why must the orogenes be controlled, according to Schaffa?

3. What do the Conductors want Kelenli to help the tuners with?

4. Why does Nassun want to end the world?

5. Who does Ykka take Essun to see after Essun first wakes up from her coma?

6. What causes the Guardians Umber and Nida to attack Nassun?

7. What's unusual about the miniature Plutonic Engine that Kelenli shows the tuners during their first lesson?

8. How does Hoa describe magic in Syl Anagist: Four?

9. When Kelenli first meets the other tuners, to what does she attribute her success in riding the onyx obelisk?

10. What happened to Nassun’s father before the beginning of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of the chapters in Jemisin’s novel end with short fragments from other texts, most prominently the field notes of Yaetr Innovator Dibars. Analyze the contents of these fragments along with their surrounding chapters. How does Nemisin use these fragments to convey the attitudes of people in the Stillness? What do these fragments suggest about the setting’s culture and history?

Essay Topic 2

Many characters in the novel have the power of tuning and orogeny and each of these characters offers a different perspective on these powers. Choose two characters from the novel who can use orogeny or tuning. Compare and contrast any statements, observations or actions they perform regarding their status. In your analysis, explain what we may infer from the similarities and differences in their attitudes.

Essay Topic 3

Dynamic characters are characters whose personalities, attitudes or behaviors change over the course of a work of fiction. Choose one character from the novel and explain why they are a dynamic character. In your explanation, analyze the changes that they undergo over the course of their character arc and what these changes signify about the novel’s themes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 665 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample