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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 the young William sometimes wonder about?

2. What does Roy wonder about Rosie?

3. How does Ashenden characterize people in the countryside where he is raised?

4. Who does Galloway mention?

5. What do some of the people at Mrs. Greencourt's tea party believe about literature?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when William comes home for Easter Break and what surprising announcement does the Vicar make?

2. Describe Rosie.

3. How does William act for a while around the Driffields after seeing Rosie with Kemp?

4. Describe Mary-Ann.

5. Describe William's memory of the last time he saw Ted.

6. What does William think about Ted's depiction of the high-born and others comparing Ted s to Shakespeare?

7. What does Amy Driffield ask of William?

8. What does William say when asked about Edward Driffield and what do they debate?

9. What does Ashenden ignore but still wonder about?

10. Describe Quinten Forde.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cakes and Ale is perhaps more of a character-driven plot rather than action-driven. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character-driven or action-driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character-driven versus action-driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

Roy never marries because he believes marriage interferes with art and "people do not want to be bothered with the wives of authors and painters." Discuss the following:

1. How do you think having a spouse can detract from one's art?

2. How do you think having a spouse can enhance one's art?

3. When looking at the ways a spouse can either enhance or detract from one's art, which matrimonial state do you think you would choose were you an artist? Why?

4. What other aspects of life can detract and/or enhance one's artistic output?

Essay Topic 3

Titles often reveal much about one or more aspects of a novel. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think is the purpose of a title? How closely related to a major theme(s) of a book do you think a title should be? Or should it be?

2. The phrase "Cakes and Ale" appears in both Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Aesop's Fable The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Research these two references and discuss the connection they may have to Maugham's book.

3. If you were the writer of Cake and Ale and your editor says the title must be changed, what would you choose? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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