View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Salon, what group actually has no involvement in the underground tunnels?

2. How does Casaubon feel about the items he sees in the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers?

3. According to the Plan, where was Napoleon initiated into the Templars?

4. What does Casaubon think may have caused an interruption in the Templars' relay of information?

5. According to Casaubon's group, what was the reason for the founding of the Rosicrucians?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Casaubon's theory about the Jesuits, who were the Rosicrucians and the Scottish Rite Freemasons?

2. What does Belbo say about the believability of the Plan, in Chapter 100?

3. Why does Casaubon include a group not related to the Freemasons when constructing his time line?

4. What conclusion does Belbo reach, regarding Francis Bacon, in the Plan?

5. What happens to Diotallevi in Chapter 101?

6. What does Aglie want Belbo to transport for him?

7. Why does Casaubon enter randomly chosen lines of text, which have nothing to do with the occult, into the computer?

8. What was the relationship between the Templars and the Jesuits, according to Casaubon's theory?

9. What does Lia try to explain to Casaubon, in Chapter 63?

10. What does the group of cloaked individuals want with Belbo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The women in Casaubon's life have a great impact on him, and affect his search for knowledge in various ways. What is Amparo's background, and how does she feel about the occult? What does Casaubon learn from her? What is Lia's outlook on Casaubon's occult activities? What does Casaubon learn from her? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss some of the literary devices employed by the author in the novel (flashbacks, foreshadowing, symbolism, etc.) How effective is the author's use of these devices, and why? Where were they used in the novel, and to what end? Do these elements flow naturally within the text, or do they seem forced or poorly transitioned? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Diotallevi believes that permutations, and other searches for occult knowledge, should be performed manually, whereas Belbo and Casaubon want to use Abulafia to perform these tasks. What is Diotallevi's reasoning for his preference? How do Belbo and Casaubon respond to him? What is lost when a task is performed by a computer, instead of being performed manually? How does the lack of effort created by this method change the meaning or outcome of the task? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,047 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample