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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 Eduard propose to sell to pay for the main project undertaken by the household?

2. What incident prompts the captain and Charlotte to kiss?

3. What letter does the Captain keep secret from his friends?

4. To whom does the captain find himself irresistibly attracted?

5. What general plans do Eduard and the captain have for the estate?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Eduard change in the wake of his realization of his passion for Ottilie?

2. What is the substance of Charlotte and Eduard's argument at the beginning of Part I, Chapter 16, and how is it resolved?

3. Describe Eduard's character, as the narrator paints it early in the novel.

4. For what reason does the foursome decide to build a pavilion?

5. What does the Baroness discover about Eduard, and how does she react to it?

6. What confusion does Eduard experience, after conducting the Count to a midnight visit with the Baroness?

7. Where on the estate do the four protagonists increase their work, and for what coming occasion?

8. What counteroffer does Charlotte make to Eduard's proposal of the Captain's visit?

9. What changes in the Captain's future situation come to light in Part I, Chapter 14?

10. Summarize the event which results in Eduard finding himself attracted to Ottilie.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Address the question of the "moral of the story": does the novel possess a clear, concise moral message? Do contradictions and problems exist in the novel that could complicate the moral message of the novel? What is the relationship between religion and morality? Does the narrator, through tone or word choice, appear to either pass judgment or encourage readers to judge characters and their actions? Are there problems, as a reader and critical reader of the novel, in forming moral judgments on specific characters?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the form, style, and content of the novel as a whole. What is the style of narrative discourse in which Goethe generally writes? What type of narrator is Goethe's narrator, and how does he use this figure as a mediation between the story and the reader? What are the effects on the narrative when the narrator occasionally switches verb tense? How does the occasional interspersion of letters and journal entries affect the "flow" of the novel, the reader's perspective of the characters, and the plot itself? How does this story fit into the genre of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Choose two minor characters and discuss their significance to the main plot elements in which they appear, and how their presence, actions, or influence contribute to the thematic development of the novel as a whole. What are these minor characters' relationships with the four main characters, what social class do they occupy, and what of their personality traits seem important to you in describing their influence? How do the minor characters interact with and affect the main characters of the novel? What specific role do they have in the plot episode in which they appear? Do you think these characters or their presence in the novel symbolize anything? Suggestions for minor characters include: Herr Mittler, the architect, Luciane, Nanni, the Count, the Baroness, the schoolmaster, and the Englishman.

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