View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word used in Chapter 3 refers to the state of feeling or showing remorse?
(a) Regretful.
(b) Vengeful.
(c) Intrinsic.
(d) Articulate.

2. Where does the narrator say Holston left his wedding ring in Chapter 2?
(a) In the holding cell.
(b) On his dresser.
(c) At his mistress’s house.
(d) At his mother’s house.

3. The divisions of dormitories that Holston passes as he makes his way up the staircase in Chapter 1 are described as being shaped like what?
(a) Diamond-shaped.
(b) Hexagon-shaped.
(c) Pie-shaped.
(d) Box-shaped.

4. What word from Chapter 1 refers to the surgical removal of body tissue?
(a) Juggernaut.
(b) Articulation.
(c) Precision.
(d) Ablation.

5. When the narrator says that Holston feels pressure to find someone to send to cleaning in Chapter 3, it is stated, “It was growing, like steam building up in the silo, ready to launch something out.” What literary technique is used in this sentence?
(a) Simile.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Assonance.
(d) Literary allusion.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whom does the mayor say will be at the desk all night and for Holston to contact him if he changes his mind about the meal in Chapter 2?

2. How many years ago was Jack Brent put to cleaning, according to the narrator in Chapter 2?

3. What were the children doing “while Holston climbed to his death” in Chapter 1?

4. What kinds of gardens are described as growing in the silo in Chapter 1?

5. Whose son bumps into Holston’s knees at the top of the stairs in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does the protagonist of the novel live? How is the arrangement of this setting described in Chapter 1?

2. What does Allison initially point out to Holston in the beginning of Chapter 3?

3. How is Holston said to relate to his memories of childhood in Chapter 1?

4. What “traitorous” notion does Allison present as a reason for the servers being wiped in Chapter 3?

5. How is the act of “cleaning” defined in the novel?

6. What theory does Holston reach about the wiped servers in Chapter 3?

7. From what narrative point of view is the story related? Is the narrative told in the past, present, or future tense?

8. What thoughts does Holston have regarding the pixels in Chapter 2?

9. What sounds are described in the beginning of Chapter 1? What tone do these sounds set for the narrative?

10. How does the setting of the novel transition in Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 833 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample