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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. The soldiers advanced in what kind of fashion in the beginning of "Boule de Suif"?

2. Who sends the Prussian officer a card on which Monsieur Carre-Lamadon inscribes his name and titles?

3. In the morning of their first day in Totes, where do the male passengers find the coach driver?

4. What do boat-men and fishermen often haul to the surface in "Boule de Suif"?

5. As they begin to share the provisions Boule de Suif offers, what do they talk about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the passengers begin to call Boule de Suif in order to persuade her to sleep with the Prussian officer?

2. What analogy does Maupassant make in order to describe how the passengers discuss their strategies in approaching Boule de Suif about sleeping with the Prussian officer, and why is it significant?

3. How do the nuns respond to how the other passengers' treatment of Boule de Suif in the coach from Totes, and why is it significant?

4. What is the reaction among the passengers when Monsieur Follenvie comes in to inquire about whether Elisabeth Rousset has changed her mind?

5. At the end of "Boule de Suif," what is Boule de Suif doing?

6. What does Boule de Suif bring for lunch and why is it significant?

7. What is the song Cornudet whistles and hums at the end of "Boule de Suif" and what does it mean?

8. What is the weather like as the passengers wait for the coach to be ready and how is it significant?

9. How does the countess use the old nun to manipulate Boule de Suif into considering sleeping with the Prussian officer?

10. How does Cornudet respond to the group's celebratory sentiment regarding Boule de Suif's compliance to the Prussian officer's demand, and what is his possible motive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss dramatic irony in "Boule de Suif."

1) Define dramatic irony.

2) What scenes employ dramatic irony?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Boule de Suif and Cornudet.

1) What makes them outsiders in the story and why?

2) Who is more or less sympathetic and why?

3) Who has more power and why?

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of religion in "Boule de Suif"?

1) How are the nuns portrayed in the story?

2) What is Boule de Suif's relationship to religion?

3) How are sacrifice, forgiveness, and sin discussed?

(see the answer keys)

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