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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 stops Della's attack on the pass?

2. As he works to complete the attack on the Authority bobble generator, Wili is torn by what desire?

3. What force drives the floating bobble of the tenement building inland?

4. What does Della do to stop the violence around the enclave?

5. How does Della feel about the security at the station where Paul and the others have been stopped?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Paul and the others able to travel to the Authority enclave in secret?

2. What sacrifice does Jill make for Wili?

3. Why are Paul and the others stopped on the road to the Authority enclave?

4. What new device do Paul and Wili create together?

5. Why does Wili lose contact with Jill during the final approach to the embobbling position?

6. What happens during Della's attack on the pass?

7. Why does Avery believe the Tinkers should be wiped out?

8. How does Wili manipulate Della and Mike while they are at the demonstration of the power generator?

9. How does Avery lose control over the situation early in the battle with the Tinkers?

10. How does Wili predict where the embobbled tenement building will go?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul recognizes quickly that Wili has a deep love of knowledge, a trait that connects them, and which allows Wili's capabilities to grow rapidly under Paul's tutelage. This passion is a critical element of the story and plays an important role in the denouement.

1) Explain how Paul recognizes Wili's love for knowledge, and why this trait interests him.

2) Discuss the impact of this trait on Wili's development and studies; explain how it positions him to take over for Paul later in the novel.

3) Describe some of the other characters and groups who share this trait, and discuss how they are presented in the novel. Is a love of knowledge presented as a universal good, a mixed good, or in a neutral light?

4) Explain the importance some characters predict, near the end of the novel, that the love of knowledge will have.

Essay Topic 2

Mike is torn in multiple directions throughout the novel, and ends up betraying those who trusted him multiple times. In the end, he is unable to live with the consequences of his actions, and has himself embobbled to avoid the scorn of those he has wronged.

1) Discuss Mike's personality traits and background, and how these characteristics affect his loyalty and moral bearing.

2) Describe the reasons that Mike had for working with the Authority to betray the bioscientists. How did Mike feel about this betrayal?

3) Discuss Mike's relationship with and eventual betrayal of Della. What conflicting feelings does Mike experience during this relationship?

4) Explain Mike's perception of himself, and how it changes throughout the course of the novel, eventually causing him to have himself embobbled.

Essay Topic 3

The events after the chess tournament and at the tenement house spark the final conflict between the Tinkers and the Authority, exacerbating a disagreement that could have smoldered for a long time or fizzled into nothing.

1) Explain the Authority's motivations for intervening at the chess tournament. What were their long and short term goals in this action, and what consequences did they anticipate or fail to anticipate?

2) Discuss Wili's insistence on aiding those trapped at the tenement house. Explain his plan to help them and why he is willing and able to follow through on this dangerous plan.

3) Describe how the events surrounding the chess tournament hostages escalate the conflict between the Tinkers and the Authority.

4) Cite evidence from the novel to explain how the plot may have progressed differently had either Wili or the Authority acted differently at either of these junctions.

(see the answer keys)

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