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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Dagny stops at a newsstand buy cigarettes, what is the last thing the vendor says to her?
(a) Oh well, next time I'll save you a paper.
(b) Oh well, you need to stop smoking anyway.
(c) Oh well, who is John Galt?
(d) Oh well, we'll have your cigarettes tomorrow.

2. What does Rearden sell off after the bill banning people from owning multiple businesses is passed?
(a) Train engines and coal mines
(b) Copper mines and coal mines
(c) Copper mines and freight companies
(d) Iron mines and jewelry manufacturing

3. When Dagny demands to be made Vice President in Charge of Operations, what reason does Jim give her for opposing the idea?
(a) Dagny, you'll get married and leave.
(b) Dagny, father never intended for you to work at Taggert.
(c) Dagny, you're a woman.
(d) Dagny, you don't know anything about railroads.

4. What is the real outcome after the court fines Rearden $5,000 and gives him a suspended sentence?
(a) Lillian's social connections are destroyed.
(b) Other industrialists will go out of business.
(c) Rearden will have to comply with the government rules.
(d) In effect, he has won against the government.

5. Why does Dagny take a leave of absence from her job as Vice President of Operations at Taggart Transcontinental?
(a) To get away to Europe for a vacation.
(b) To try and localte John Galt.
(c) To supervise and finish the John Galt Line.
(d) To find Francisco and marry him.

Short Answer Questions

1. Based on what she knows at the moment, what conclusion does Dagny draw about the disappearance of men like Wyatt?

2. How did the Sternes say they tried to run Twentieth Century Motors?

3. Why can Dagny not learn the name of the third student at Patrick Henry University according to Dr. Akston?

4. What is Dagny's reply to Cherryl's comment that she is "the woman in the Taggart family"?

5. How does Rand let the reader know that there is a connection between Francisco and Danneskjtzld?

Short Essay Questions

1. At his trial, Hank Rearden refuses to give the government the "sanction of the victim." Explain what he means.

2. How does the scene of the broken furnace give Hank insight into Francisco's real character?

3. Briefly explain Dr. Stadler's surprise that the motor Dagny found was being developed in a remote automobile factory.

4. In the chapter Rand calls "Account Overdrawn," how does the author picture the results of the socialist government's regulations?

5. At first, Hank Rearden dislikes Francisco d'Anconia. Explain his reasons.

6. Dagny sees Hank Rearden as a "man who belongs on earth." Explain why.

7. Explain the significance of the mysterious Halley's Fifth Concerto in developing the novel.

8. The title of the chapter, "The Exploiters and the Exploited" might suggest that the industrialists like Hank Rearden exploit the public by creating products for their own personal gratification. Rand, however, turns that around to suggest that the socialist government are exploiting the industrialists. Support that idea.

9. Discuss the different views from "the top" and "the bottom."

10. When an agreement is reached that closes the John Galt Line and the Rio Norte Line, what does Francisco mean when he asks Dagny if they had murdered John Galt?

(see the answer keys)

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