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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. Whose apartment does Marlowe visit in this chapter?

2. How old is Philip Marlowe?

3. What kind of car do the Sternwood's own?

4. Where does the truck go to?

5. What city is Marlowe from?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what happens at the abandoned oil well in chapter 3.

2. Why does Mrs. Mars refuse to go with Marlowe?

3. What does Marlowe find out about Eddie in chapter 13?

4. How does Mars react to the fact that there maybe a gray Plymouth on Marlowe's tail?

5. Why does Marlowe think he has been given a lawyer's job?

6. Where does Marlowe discover Geiger's body?

7. Why can Marlowe not catch the killer?

8. What two important people do Marlowe and Ohls meet in chapter 18?

9. Describe what Marlowe does when he gets back to his apartment in chapter 30.

10. What will Eddie do if Marlowe does not stay in the house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look at the structure of the novel:

1) How does Chandler use character and dialogue to drive the narrative.

2) Discuss elements of the narrative structure, including: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

3) Away from the main character examine the way Chandler uses the other characters in the story. When does he introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 2

The novel is set mostly in Los Angeles.

1) What meaning does Los Angeles bring to the novel? What would you automatically presume about a novel that was set in Los Angeles?

2) How different do you think today's Los Angeles is to the Los Angeles in the novel? How do you think the novel's meaning would change if it were set in today's Los Angeles?

3) How do you think the Los Angeles settings of the novel contributes to the novel's spirtual meaning?

Essay Topic 3

Examine violence in the novel:

1) How do the characters in the novel view violence? Are there are character that would think twice before shooting or hitting someone?

2) Do the characters need to be violent to cope in the world that Chandler portrays?

3) How do the students think the public reacted to the novel's violence when it was first published? How would the public react to such a book today?

(see the answer keys)

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