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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 Aliena tell Jack she is going to do after ten years of living apart?

2. What does Waleran tell William would be an ideal insult to Philip?

3. What does Jack tell the townspeople to inspire them?

4. How does the master builder of William's church find masons to hire?

5. Who tells Aliena that Jack has gone to Paris to work on a cathedral?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Jack invent an ingenious cloth felter for Aliena?

2. Describe what happens in Kingsbridge Cathedral on Whitunsday after William is confirmed as the earl of Shiring.

3. Describe the young wife of William Hamleigh.

4. How is William's mismanagement of Shiring evident throughout the countryside?

5. What happens when Jack and Aliena bring the Weeping Madonna, which was a gift from Jack's friend, Raschid, to Kingsbridge?

6. What are the aftereffects of William's attack on Kingsbridge on the citizens of the town?

7. What does Aliena teach Elizabeth when they meet each other when seeking shelter from a storm?

8. What does William Hamleigh decide to do in order to increase the wealth of Shiring when he takes control after his father's death?

9. What are the changes Alfred proposes for the cathedral when Philip names him as master builder?

10. Why does Richard decide to join the Christian crusades fighting in the Holy Land?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Interpret the feelings Aliena and Jack have for each other when they begin their relationship.

2) Are their emotions authentic? Are they truthful with each other?

3) Compare these emotions with how they interact later in the novel, after they become parents of two children.

4) What regrets do they have as their relationship progresses through the novel?

5) How does their relationship differ from the first part of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

1) Imagine you are an historian reading Pillars of the Earth. Would you see the story as historically accurate?

2) Use details from the story to support your answer.

3) What plot or setting descriptions would you change to make it more historically accurate?

4) Are the historical figures, such as King Henry and Thomas Beckett, depicted accurately? Support the answer with examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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