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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 Prior Philip have the monks do when they go to the quarry?

2. How does Tom get hired to make repairs on Kingsbridge Cathedral?

3. What does the condemned man look like?

4. What is Agnes' condition after the birth?

5. Who teaches Aliena about the wool business?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tom ask Ellen after she allows Tom and the children to stay in her cave, giving them food and shelter?

2. What is the reaction of the townspeople as the man is led to the gallows?

3. Who is riding behind the oxcart that brings the condemned man to the gallows?

4. Summarize the actions of the townspeople before the hanging takes place.

5. Describe the condemned man's appearance.

6. Why does Abbot Peter transfer Prior Philip out of the monastery where he was born and where does he send him?

7. Describe how Tom is hired to begin repairs of Kingsbridge Cathedral and what is the condition Philip sets about Ellen?

8. What events take place when William Hamleigh goes to the castle at Shiring to claim it as his own?

9. What is Tom Builder's greatest passion in life?

10. What does Prior Philip have the monks of the monastery do when William Hamleigh's men will not let, Tom, the master builder of Kingsbridge, go into the quarry for stone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Describe the events following the sinking of the White Ship.

2) What is the fate of lone survivor and how is he involved with Aliena, Jack, Waleran Bigot, Percy Hamleigh, and Prior James?

3) How does the survivors' lives affect the lives of these characters?

4) Cite examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

William Hamleigh is the main source of terror to many of the characters throughout the novel. He is mentioned in all parts of the story.

1) Explain the different images Follett gives of William as the book progresses including his fears and his aspirations.

2) What is the significance of William's character in each part of the novel?

3) How do his fears relate to the fate of William at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

1) Compare and contrast the characters of Richard and William Hamleigh.

2) Summarize the impact each character has on one another.

3) How is each character realistic in their struggles to attain the earldom?

4) Is Richard or William more effective in their methods of requiring Shiring?

5) Cite examples from the novel to support the answer.

(see the answer keys)

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