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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. Which way does Rodion sharpen a pencil?

2. How old is Emmie?

3. What metaphor does Cincinnatus use for trying to find the essence of what he wants to say?

4. On the eighth day, how much of Cincinnatus' pencil is used up?

5. What does Cincinnatus do outside the new prisoner's cell?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Cincinnatus hope to get out of seeing Marthe?

2. What is the new prisoner doing when Cincinnatus walks past his cell after meeting Emmie in the hallway?

3. After the director reads his formal speech to Cincinnatus, where does Cincinnatus go?

4. At Cincinnatus's first meeting with M'sieur Pierre, what happens the first few times M'sieur Pierre asks Cincinnatus a question?

5. What memory of his wife does Cincinnatus recall in his writing?

6. At the end of his first day in prison, what does Cincinnatus think about?

7. How does Emmie say goodbye to Cincinnatus?

8. What happens after Cincinnatus goes to bed, the night after the prisoner arrives?

9. Describe Pierre's circus performance.

10. What happens when there start to be complaints about Cincinnatus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of the librarian in the novel.

1) What does the librarian's job say about him?

2) How does the librarian react to the other characters and the culture that surrounds him? How does he react to Pierre and the prison director?

3) Why does Cincinnatus try to communicate and make a connection with the librarian near the end of the novel? What does the librarian's reaction say about him? What is the librarian's reaction at the beheading, and what does this indicate?

Essay Topic 2

Many things in the novel are superficial or fake. Discuss the role of superficiality and falseness in the novel.

1) How is superficiality a part of the culture of the novel?

2) What items in Cincinnatus' surroundings such as in his prison and his cell are fake? What do these fake items signify? How does Cincinnatus perceive them?

3) How are the people surrounding Cincinnatus fake? Why does he perceive them as unreal? What would make a person real to Cincinnatus?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss deception in the novel.

1) In what ways is Cincinnatus deceived throughout the novel? How does Pierre deceive him? How does Rodrig deceive him? How does Emmie deceive him? How does Marthe deceive him?

2) How does Cincinnatus react to being deceived? Does he let himself be deceived? How does he respond when he knows he's been deceived?

3) Does Cincinnatus deceive himself? How?

(see the answer keys)

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