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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. How did the tuners prefer to communicate?

2. Why was Tetlewha no longer with the tuners?

3. What happens to the body of the man Ykka kills in "3: You, Imbalanced"?

4. Why do Nassun and Schaffa camp before entering Old Man's Pucker?

5. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Essun travels with Castrima?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Ykka say she is mad at Essun when Essun first wakes up from her coma?

2. Why can the stone eaters track Nassun?

3. When Schaffa and Nassun arrive at Old Man's Pucker, they camp outside the forest before heading in to look for the Station. Why?

4. Essun begins Chapter 1 with a group of caretakers. Where are they from and where are they headed?

5. What happened to Essun’s arm before the beginning of the novel?

6. What does Schaffa advise the orogenes from Found Moon to do when he sends them to find a new comm?

7. When Kelenli first meets the other tuners, to what does she attribute her success in riding the onyx obelisk?

8. What causes the Guardians Umber and Nida to attack Nassun?

9. Why does Essun not want to stay with Castrima as they make the journey to Rennanis?

10. Where is Hoa while he narrates the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Like our protagonists, Father Earth has known exploitation and loss. Explain how Jemisin uses Father Earth as a foil to Nassun, Essun or Hoa. What makes Father Earth an antagonist? What leads him to change his ways? How does his character arc compare to the protagonist’s?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the importance of fragmentation in the novel’s narrative structure. Why does Hoa shift so much between eras and points of view? How does the fragmentation of the narrative reflect the fragmentation between the characters? How does this fragmentation shape our understanding of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Chapter 1 concludes with an interview between an old woman and an unnamed scribe. Write an essay explaining the importance of the interviewee’s statement to the themes and events of the novel. What ‘cycle’ is the old woman talking about? Which of the protagonists best exemplifies her approach?

(see the answer keys)

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