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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. What does every citizen in Krakow have in their homes?

2. With what does Kreutz flee at the end?

3. Who is questioned in the king's chambers?

4. What happens to the fire?

5. What is the other secret that Kreutz reveals to Tring?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain what happens to the Charnetski family at the end of Chapter 16.

2. What is Kreutz's explanation to Tring for how he obtained the crystal?

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

4. Explain what happens after Kreutz grabs the crystal from the king's hands.

5. As of 1928, as described in the Epilogue, why do people go to the city of Krakow?

6. When Tring puts Kreutz into a trance in Chapter 13, what important information does Kreutz give to Tring?

7. In Chapter 13, what is Tring's reaction when he sees the Great Tarnov Crystal in the middle of Kreutz's loft?

8. When Jan Kanty arrives at the tower with Kreutz in Chapter 14, what does Pan Andrew observe?

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

10. When Elzbietka hears the Heynal played in its entirety as described in Chapter 12, where is she and what does she do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you think that Peter of the Button Face's bargain with the king was fair? Do you think the king should have let Peter go in exchange for information? Or do you think he should have punished him more severely? Why do you think the king would have believed that Peter would never return to Poland again?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Joseph's bravery. Does his character description make for an exciting hero? Is his character believable? Are there other characters who show bravery that you preferred in the novel? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

How does the fact that the peasants' dependence upon agriculture as described in the book exacerbates the conflict between superstition and science in the novel?

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