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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Proust see in his friends?
(a) Their faults.
(b) Their negativity.
(c) Their positivity.
(d) Nothing.

2. Who was an editor who also wrote a piece about a composer George Bizet?
(a) Proust.
(b) Marquis de Lau.
(c) De Botton.
(d) Louis Ganderax.

3. Who was the artist Proust wanted the young man to be introduced to?
(a) Jean-Baptiste Chardin.
(b) Picasso.
(c) Jean-Baptiste.
(d) Monet.

4. What did Proust give as an example of people becoming unsatisfied at something they grew used to?
(a) The car.
(b) The television.
(c) The telephone.
(d) The airplane.

5. Which of the following did Proust NOT say about friendship?
(a) It was needed.
(b) It was a farce.
(c) It was a lie.
(d) It was a foolish sacrifice.

6. Who did Proust write to in the letter De Botton shares in Chapter 8?
(a) His sister.
(b) His grandmother.
(c) His grandfather,
(d) His mother.

7. What are great author's able to do according to Proust?
(a) Create imagery and emotions in their readers.
(b) Move people in their words.
(c) Coin cliched terms.
(d) Express themselves in unique ways.

8. What did Proust say about people when they used tried sayings?
(a) They are "superficial articulations" of ideas and experiences.
(b) They are plagiarizing.
(c) They are lazy.
(d) They lack creativity and authenticity.

9. What did Proust feel people's dissatisfaction or unhappiness ultimately was?
(a) Failure of perception.
(b) Failure to love.
(c) Failure to understand.
(d) Failure to communicate.

10. How did Proust act when he was around different types of people?
(a) Uncomfortable.
(b) Exuberantly.
(c) The same at all times.
(d) Different according to whom he was with.

11. How did Proust not practice what he preached in the message of "In Search of Lost Time"?
(a) He hated simple things.
(b) He was an extravagant person.
(c) He was blind to ordinary things.
(d) He did not like ordinary.

12. What Impressionist artist does De Botton mention?
(a) Pablo Picasso.
(b) Henry Matisse.
(c) Degas.
(d) Claude de Monet.

13. Where did Proust's father take Proust when he was a child?
(a) A brothel.
(b) A football game.
(c) A museum.
(d) A carnival.

14. What should love always involve according to Proust?
(a) A pursuit.
(b) A fulfillment.
(c) A need.
(d) A support.

15. Who is Gilberte?
(a) Proust's sister.
(b) Proust's girlfriend.
(c) The woman the narrator in "In Search of Lost Time" becomes enamored with.
(d) De Botton's girlfriend.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Proust believe about people when they were with their friends?

2. What does the reality of people's life often not match in the perception of their life?

3. What was the name of Proust's friend in which he wrote a mean and berating letter that he never sent and another full of praise that he did send?

4. What did Proust believe about painters?

5. Who is the unhappy young boy a reflection of in "In Search of Lost Time"?

(see the answer keys)

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