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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. In Chapter 14, who descends on the Street of Pigeons and why?

2. What does Kreutz hand over to Pan Andrew once at the tower in Chapter 14?

3. How much of the city is destroyed by the fire?

4. What happens at the end of the meeting with the king?

5. What instrument is playing in the church in the Epilogue?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how the Epilogue explains the Heynal is played.

2. Who leaves the tower to fight the fire and who fills in for him in Chapter 14?

3. Describe how the people of Krakow put out fires in general and in Chapter 14.

4. After Peter and his men are arrested and Joseph returns to the tower in Chapter 12, what is it that confuses Pan Andrew?

5. What does the inside of the Church of Our Lady Mary look like?

6. Describe the chief glory of the city of Krakow as it is explained in the Epilogue.

7. Describe the Vistula River as it is explained in the Epilogue.

8. What does Peter of the Button Face do to break into the tower in Chapter 11?

9. What happens when Kreutz actually mixes the ingredients to make the Philosopher's Stone in Chapter 13?

10. When Kreutz reveals that he has the crystal in Chapter 14, describe his feelings.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Nicholas Kreutz and Johann Tring. Is Johann Tring truly evil, or does he just misunderstand the power of superstition? Why do you think the author portrays Kreutz as powerless against the trances of Tring? Do you think the author should have handled this conflict differently?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast culture and academics in Krakow in 1462 with the culture and academics in Krakow in 1928 at the time of the author's writing. Are they all that different? Why do you think that modern culture has roots that extend to times of centuries gone by?

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think the author used both fictional and non-fictional characters in the novel? Do you think it is confusing to combine true and made up characters? If you were tasked with writing a historical fiction novel, would you do it the same way that this author did? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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