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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 transition does the reader take in Chapter 10?

2. Whose reading habits do those censoring novels have most in common with?

3. In "What Story Down There Awaits its End?", what is the name of the woman the main character wants to see?

4. What is the name of the version of Lotaria who has sex with the reader?

5. What type of company did the man in "In a Network of Lines that Intersect" found?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the story in "On the Carpet of Leaves Illuminated by the Moon."

2. Why does Marana seem like a strange character?

3. Describe how the ramifications of falsehoods are explored in Chapter 9.

4. Describe "In a Network of Lines that Enlace."

5. What is the role of the OAP?

6. What is the role of the OEPHLW?

7. Why is the reader arrested? Who holds him and why?

8. Why does the reader accept the assignment in Chapter 10?

9. What do you think Calvino is trying to say about censorship?

10. Describe the shift in perspective that occurs in Chapter 7 and why the author included this.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the battle for language in the novel. How do the two sides continue to fight? How does the battle still affect those who read? What tone does the battle set for the novel?

Essay Topic 2

How do you think Calvino views his readers? What makes you believe this is so? How does he compare to Flannery in this sense?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Lotaria's character. What motivates Lotaria? What is her purpose in the novel? Is she a protagonist or an antagonist? Why? Cite two pieces of evidence from the novel.

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