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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 makes a hole in the floor in Chapter 33?

2. What does the king do after seeing Saskia's work in Chapter 19?

3. What is the title of Part 6 of the novel?

4. What is special about what Saskia has to accomplish in Chapter 29?

5. When Saskia returns home in Chapter 22, what does her father want her to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the miller lie about what Saskia can do with the yarn in Chapter 15?

2. Why does Saskia run away from Dagmar's home in Chapter 22?

3. Why does Saskia run away from home in Chapter 22?

4. What does the tailor do in anticipation of the arrival of his grandchild in Chapter 26?

5. How does the king prove to Saskia that he will never ask her to spin straw again?

6. What does Elke confess to the tailor in Chapter 24?

7. What does the tailor do in anticipation of his grandchild in Chapter 32?

8. What does the king do to Saskia when her father tells him about the gold straw in Chapter 16?

9. How does Saskia try to convince the tailor to let her keep her child in Chapter 29?

10. What does Elke tell Saskia about the tailor in Chapter 31?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and interpret the secondary characters of the novel. Who are they and what are their defining character traits? How are they related to either Saskia or the tailor? What are their roles in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the symbolism in the novel "Spinners". What are some examples of symbolism in the novel? What does the spinning wheel symbolize? What does the tailor's deformed leg symbolize?

(see the answer keys)

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