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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. To which of the following does *Nile* compare the protest outside Thurwar’s penultimate bloodsport bout?

2. What team normally uses the field on which Thurwar prepares for her penultimate fight?

3. Whose tent does Simon occupy initially?

4. What profession had Gunny wanted to enter?

5. What weapon had Sunset used?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mari enlist Nile to take her to Thurwar’s penultimate fight?

2. How does Mari manage to get her sign into the arena for Thurwar’s penultimate fight?

3. For what reason does Thurwar posit she is being punished for the protest outside her penultimate fight?

4. How does Wil react to Emily’s shock at Simon’s entry into the bloodsport?

5. How does Bad Water explain his incarceration?

6. How had Thurwar adjusted Staxxx’s training regimen in the weeks leading up to their fight?

7. Why does Sunset note not being able to face the outside world?

8. Why is arriving at a Hub City jarring?

9. Why did Staxxx’s mother caution her to be careful giving out her name?

10. What is reported as a reaction to the Influencer by some who experience it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the novel’s repeated presentation of relief at survival and guilt at that relief. What function does the tension between relief and guilt serve in the novel? How is that function presented?

Essay Topic 2

Of the punishments inflicted on people in the novel, which is the worst? Why is it the worst?

Essay Topic 3

Section divisions, their titles, and chapter numbering / division schema are all components of paratext. That is, they are not part of the text but are associated with it closely and affect its meaning. What significance, if any, accrues to the chapter-naming scheme at work in Chain-Gang All-Stars? If there is significance, how does that significance manifest? If there is not, what in the novel supports the paratextual divisions that are in place?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 562 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample