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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 5, the narrator says, “The enormous pent-up pressure of the place was now hissing through the seams in whispers.” What literary technique is used in this sentence?

2. What does Allison whisper from the darkened corner of her cell after hours of complete silence in Chapter 5?

3. What word from Chapter 5 refers to a mathematical determination of the number of something?

4. On what floor of the silo is the dirt farm where Holston’s parents were sent after their deaths?

5. What does Holston grab above him in order to pull himself to a standing position as Nelson dresses him in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom does Allison believe to be responsible for keeping secrets in Chapter 5?

2. What conclusions Holston make upon taking in the surroundings of the outer world in Chapter 6?

3. What does Allison initially say to Holston when she begins to talk in the holding cell in Chapter 5?

4. What does Holston recall of Allison’s preparations to depart for her cleaning in Chapter 4?

5. What is Nelson’s position in the story? What does he tell Holston in the beginning of Chapter 4?

6. How is Allison’s death described in Chapter 4?

7. Why does Holston make the decision to keep on his helmet as he departs in Chapter 6?

8. Where did Holston watch Allison’s cleaning from? What does the narrator say Allison did when she completed the cleaning in Chapter 4?

9. What is the setting in the opening of Chapter 4? What state is Holston in at the beginning of the chapter?

10. What is the setting and time frame established in the opening of Chapter 6? What is Holston doing in the beginning of the chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Love and Loss in Wool

a. Discuss Holston’s relationship with his wife, Allison. How close was their relationship? What were the main conflicts within their marriage?

b. In what ways does Holston’s grief over the loss of his wife drive his actions in the story? What do you think is the singular event that sets off the subsequent events in the story?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the setting of the story. When does this story take place? What clues in the narrative indicate a time setting for the story? What is a “silo” and how is this setting described in the first chapter?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the narrative shifts of time frame throughout the novel. Why does the author implement the use of flashback as opposed to relating these events through exposition? What effect does this have on the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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