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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 the tailor realize when Elke tells him about the creator of the object she brings him in Chapter 11?

2. How does Saskia react when her father takes something away from her in Chapter 12?

3. Why does Saskia's father refuse to get out of bed in Chapter 6?

4. Why does Saskia have to sell these things in Chapter 6?

5. What is Saskia unable to resist doing in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Saskia learn in Chapter 9?

2. What does Saskia's father do while she is spinning threads in Chapter 12?

3. What classic story does "Spinners" borrow elements from?

4. What happens at the end of Chapter 4?

5. How does the tailor try to convince the father of the young maiden that he is worthy of his daughter in Chapter 1?

6. What does Saskia promise herself at the end of Chapter 12?

7. What does the tailor insist upon in Chapter 11?

8. What happens when the miller becomes depressed in Chapter 6?

9. What does the tailor discover when he returns home in Chapter 8?

10. What is the tailor's actual motives for asking many questions about Saskia in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Summarize the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairy tale. Discuss which elements of the fairy tale Napoli incorporates into her novel as well the effectiveness of these elements in the story.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the motif of betrayal in the novel "Spinners". Who betrays who and why? How do these examples of betrayal impact the characters who are betrayed?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author of the novel, Donna Jo Napoli. What other works has she received recognition for? Is her work usually similarly-themed? Does she always write in the same genre?

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