The People of Sparks

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What causes the major conflict between the people of Sparks and the people of Ember?

A) The lack of intelligence in Ember

B) The disorganization of Sparks

C) The loss of technology by Sparks

D) The scarcity of resources

2. What adjective best describes the characters of Lina and Doon?

A) Abrasive

B) Inquisitive

C) Trouble-making

D) Riotous

3. Which of the following plot scenarios best represents the novel’s theme of Arbitrary Divisions to Create “Us” and “Them” in the communities?

A) The people of Ember and Sparks work together to eliminate the fire.

B) Tick works against the people of Sparks by spreading falsehoods.

C) The people of Sparks are prejudiced against the way the Emberites dress.

D) Lina and Maddy abandon Caspar’s fruitless mission as a treasure seeker.

4. How does Lina’s character change throughout the course of the novel?

A) She learns her place as the doctor’s housekeeper.

B) She becomes friends with Doon.

C) She recognizes her purpose apart from the Emberites.

D) She overcomes her fear and helps others.

5. Why is it ironic that the people of Sparks refer to the people of Ember as “cavepeople”?

A) The clothing of the people of Sparks is more archaic.

B) The people of Ember had better technology.

C) Those who lived in Ember have better communication skills.

D) The people of Sparks stir up trouble for the Emberites.

6. What exacerbates the conflict between the people of Sparks and Ember?

A) Troublemakers and roamers

B) Intellectual and cultural differences

C) Hard labor and the lack of food

D) The disorganization and chaos of Sparks

7. Why do the people of Sparks have difficulty working with the people of Ember?

A) The Sparks people do not understand the unusual ways of the people of Ember.

B) The Sparks people are protective of their own way of life and want to preserve it.

C) The Sparks people believe they are superior to the Ember people.

D) The Sparks people resist change because of the apocalypse.

8. What important lesson does Maddy teach Lina in the novel?

A) How to break the cycle of revenge and retribution

B) That the people of Sparks are the treasure

C) That searching for treasure is meaningless

D) The importance of sticking up for yourself

9. What is the difference between Lina’s and Doon's initial reactions to Sparks?

A) Lina and Doon both assimilate into the culture, but Lina is unhappy with her work.

B) Lina adjusts quickly while Doon suffers under harsh labor.

C) Doon quickly stimulates his intellectual and physical pursuits while Lina feels unfulfilled.

D) There is no real difference between Lina's and Doon’s initial reactions to Sparks.

10. What does Lina struggle to find in Sparks?

A) New skills

B) Identity

C) Closure

D) Peace

11. What does the egg incident between Torren and Lina foreshadow in the novel?

A) The aggression between the people of Sparks and Ember

B) The sharing of natural resources

C) The fall of the Sparks society and the rise of the Emberites

D) The eventual cease-fire between the people of Sparks and Ember

12. What do the “bloody” handprints left by Tick after berry picking foreshadow in the novel?

A) His desire to grow sustainable, shared resources

B) The hard work he is unwilling to participate in

C) His contributions to repairing the Pioneer

D) His role in inciting violence

13. How does Caspar’s refusal to feed the starving roamer parallel the events in Sparks?

A) It demonstrates the scarcity of resources caused by greed.

B) It illustrates the importance of using kindness to turn enemies into friends.

C) It reveals how harshly the people of Sparks treat others.

D) It portrays the rising tensions between the communities.

14. What can the reader infer about the author’s views on dealing with violence?

A) Violence is a necessary part of change.

B) Individuals should take a passive stance on violence.

C) Violence requires more violence to overcome it.

D) Violence can be counteracted by kindness.

15. What is the best lesson that can be learned from the spread of misinformation in the novel?

A) Misinformation can unify a community that is at odds with itself.

B) Misinformation is based on subtle truths that finally come to the surface.

C) Misinformation can bend the perception of reality, creating problems that don’t exist.

D) Misinformation may take a long time to spread throughout a community.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why do you think Emberites are important to the post-disaster world?

2. What lesson does the novel teach about the importance of community in the face of adversity?