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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. What moniker is accorded to first-time space travelers in the novel?

2. In what year does the novel begin?

3. What industry does Magowan promise to restore in Maine?

4. Which national reporter was on site when Gwendy announced her Senate candidacy?

5. To whom is the novel dedicated?

Short Essay Questions

1. What basic assumption does Gwendy harbor about the wealthy, to which she thinks Gareth an exception?

2. Summarize Gwendy's reply to Magowan's first political attack against her.

3. Where is the fire-damage to Gwendy's house concentrated?

4. What occasions a thud and a flash on the ascent into space?

5. What accounts for Gwendy's name?

6. What sign had formerly graced the approach to the flight vehicle?

7. Of what does Gwendy dream while dozing before her televised conference?

8. What news effectively ends Magowan's campaign?

9. What fate befell the most recent holder of the puzzle box before Gwendy?

10. What protections have been put in place around Gwendy's home in the wake of the fire?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

To what genre other than science fiction might Gwendy’s Final Task be considered to belong? What in the text supports that identification? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

There are two authors for the book. Is it possible to tell what parts are composed by one author or the other? How so? Or, if it is not, what serves to unify the authorial voice throughout, and how?

Essay Topic 3

Given that the novel is the third in a trilogy, what assumptions does it appear to make about readers being familiar with the earlier volumes in the trilogy? What in the novel indicates those assumptions? How does it do so?

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