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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 does Ellen Cherry resolve with regard to Turn Around Norman?

2. What about Buddy attracts Ellen Cherry?

3. Who destroys the temple?

4. What is the subject of the painting is Ellen Cherry working on, while she and Boomer are driving across the country?

5. What type of animal is described by the narrator as "Turning modern technology to their idiosyncratic advantage"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the sculpture that Boomer is bringing to Jerusalem to reassemble.

2. Why do you think that Ellen Cherry covers a nude portrait of Boomer with tongues?

3. What does Robbins say about religion at the end of the Fourth Veil?

4. Describe Ellen Cherry's eye game.

5. What do we learn about Patsy, Ellen Cherry's mother in the section called "The First Veil"?

6. Describe why Boomer says he feels guilty about his success as an artist.

7. Robbins writes, "Those people who recognize that imagination is reality's master, we call 'sages', and those who act upon it, we call 'artists.'" What do you think he means by this and why is the distinction important?

8. Verlin, Patsy, and Buddy go to see a "miracle", which turns out to be nothing more than a shadow on a freezer. What does an incident like this seem to say about people's relationship to religion and mystery? Does it cast a reflection on Buddy's miracle?

9. Explain the symbolism of the I & I.

10. The fifth veil has to do with removing the illusion of the value of money. Is money's value really an illusion? Explain why or why not.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the two stories of Salome. How does the ancient version of Salome compare to the modern version? The ancient Salome performs the Dance of the Seven Veils in exchange for John the Baptist's head on a plate. The modern Salome dances in response to Ellen Cherry's mural during the Super Bowl.

Essay Topic 2

Explore the character of Turn Around Norman - if indeed we can call him a character. We certainly don't know much about him. We know that he is a street performer who moves in a circle so slowly that his motion can't be perceived. In this way, he mimics what we typically think of as inanimate objects. He is there every day to perform without fail, until Buddy basically pushes him out. Why does Ellen Cherry consider him the only real artist in New York City? Why do the objects become attached to him? Why do you think he's in this novel?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the historical account in this novel, including Robbins' interpretations of the events with the generally accepted historical view. This requires some basic research. Be careful to limit your comparison to a manageable sequence of events. For example, do not try to track the entire historical background from the first temple to modern day Jerusalem. Choose a coherent part of the history detailed in the novel and limit yourself to that. You could, for example, choose to focus on the Jerusalem from the first temple to the second. Or, you might focus on the 20th century conflict between Israel and Palestine.

(see the answer keys)

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