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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. From where does Amy often have to fetch Ted?
2. What does Ashenden wonder as he and Kear are having lunch?
3. What is Kear free of?
4. What does Ted insist?
5. What does Amy write to William?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does William learn from Mary-Ann?
2. Describe Mary-Ann.
3. Describe Ted Driffield.
4. What does William think about on his way home from the lunch with Kear?
5. What are Roy and William doing and what topic does Roy bring up?
6. How does William act for a while around the Driffields after seeing Rosie with Kemp?
7. What does Ashenden ignore but still wonder about?
8. Briefly describe William's interaction with Ted and Rosie when he is a youth.
9. What does Amy Driffield ask of William?
10. How does Ashenden characterize Alroy Kear's writing career?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Mrs. Encombe is Blackstable's first liberated New Woman--she wears her hair short and her skirt barely covers the top of her boots. People are intimidated by her intellect and joke nervously about her. Discuss the following:
1. Trace and analyze how women are viewed in Cakes and Ale. Does it seem a woman is either a saint or whore? Is this the view of the author or the culture? Or both?
2. Why do you think Rosie is treated sympathetically in Cakes and Ale by the narrator?
3. How does Ted treat Rosie? Does he respect her? Does he care that she violates social convention?
4. Why is Mrs. Encombe viewed askance? Would she be looked at the same way today?
Essay Topic 2
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 3
Though in some ways, William is merely an observer and the story teller, Cakes and Ale might be considered a Bildungsroman, or Coming of Age story with William as the hero. Discuss the following:
1. Define Bildungsroman and give several examples from literature you have read.
2. Trace and analyze the character of William as he grows from a youth to an older man. Is he likeable? Sympathetic? What are his strengths and weaknesses? Do those strengths and weaknesses change as he ages? How does William change as he ages?
3. After thoroughly analyzing William's character, do you think Cakes and Ale could be considered Williams Coming of Age story? Why or why not?
4. Are there any other characters in Cakes and Ale who go through a Coming of Age experience? Who? Why do you think so?
This section contains 1,391 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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