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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 Daneel ask Lije after they turn over Clousarr to detention?

2. Where do the men end?

3. Who does Enderby intend to kill in Spacertown?

4. Who pushes the person into the fission chamber?

5. What is the First Law of Robotics?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Dr. Gerrigel demonstrate the first law of robotics and at the same time prove once and for all R. Daneel's innocence?

2. How does Lije react to Bentley showing up at the apartment and what does this say about the relationship between Lije and Jesse?

3. What childhood story makes Lije re-think Enderby as the murder suspect and why do you think Lije makes the connection between the story and Enderby?

4. How does the conversation between Lije and Clousarr show Lije's changing opinions of robots?

5. What theme is demonstrated by the conversation between Lije and Norris?

6. Who does Lije call in Washington, D.C. and why does Lije call the man?

7. What is the explanation that Dr. Gerrigel offers for the physical appearance of robots. Does this explanation seem plausible to you?

8. How do you think Lije's prejudice towards robots hinders his murder investigation?

9. How does THE CAVES OF STEEL reach its climax and subsequent denouement?

10. Do you think Clousarr is an evil character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems obvious that Lije wants to keep his professional life separate from his private/family life. Discuss the following:

1. In what ways does Lije try to separate his private from his professional life?

2. Do you think it is healthy for a person to keep their private lives and professional/work lives completely separate? Why or why not?

3. When you were a child, how aware were you of what your Mom/Dad did career wise? Do you wish they had told you more?

Essay Topic 2

Dr. Fastolfe is currently one hundred and sixty three years old, and on Fastolfe's home planet, Aurora, the average life expectancy for a male is three hundred and fifty years. Discuss the following:

1. What would it be like to have a life expectancy of 350 years?

2. Could Earth sustain life if people lived that long?

3. Do you think if the life expectancy were that long, the birth rate would plummet?

4. How long would adolescence last if one lived to be 350 years old?

Essay Topic 3

There are a number of examples in the book where it is obvious that human society is more strictly regulated and structured in the time of THE CAVES OF STEEL than at the present time in the United States. Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze the way the world of THE CAVES OF STEEL is structured and regulated. Evaluate its effectiveness and its problems.

2. Compare/contrast the society in which Lije lives versus an average American today.

3. Are there countries that are as tightly controlled in the "real" world as that in THE CAVES OF STEEL? Compare the two.

(see the answer keys)

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