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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 swirls above the mountain where the company is heading?

2. What must Vane do in the desert?

3. How does the Army enter the city?

4. How does Lilith attach Vane?

5. Who does Whitey drive off?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Lona.

2. What does the Princess tell Vane after Vane bathes and eats?

3. What is Vane told when he seems to wake up and goes outside to find the desert alive with streams and ponds?

4. Describe Vane.

5. Describe the Princess's encounter with Lona.

6. When Vane sees the Princess, what does she tell him when she first sees him and what does he think?

7. Why does Vane say he is unworthy to sleep in the chamber and what does he have to first do before sleeping?

8. What is Vane contemplating about creation?

9. What saves Vane from wolves and how do they influence Vane?

10. What does Adam explain about sleep?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lilith is replete with symbols. Discuss the following:

1. Describe the garret and mirror and what each may symbolize. Do you think they are successful in what they may symbolize? Why or why not.

2. Describe the different leopards and discuss the symbolism of them.

3. Discuss Raven and why you think MacDonald may have chosen to name Adam as Raven. It will probably be helpful to research the various symbolic meanings often ascribed to the Raven.

Essay Topic 2

The idea of identity appears throughout Lilith. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze the theme of identity throughout LILITH. Whose identities change? Whose stay the same? Is one's identity set or does it change?

2. Do you think the word "identity" is the same as the concept of "true self"? Explain your response with examples from the text.

3. Does Mr. Vane's true self change or does his perception of who he is change? Explore this question fully with examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

LILITH is first published in the last decade of the 19th century, a time when much of the writing was greatly influenced by religious motifs and classical Roman and Greek works. In addition to the classics, MacDonald is very well-versed in the works of more "recent" (recent to his time) writers such as William Blake and those of the Romantic era. Therefore, knowledge of the author and of some of the influences on his writing is helpful in understanding much of the symbolism and imagery in LILITH.

1. Research the author George MacDonald. Where does he grow up; what is his religious background; where is he educated and what does he study? What are his beliefs as an adult?

2. What do you learn about George MacDonald's life that you think influences his writing of Lilith? Give examples from your research and then pair it up with examples from the text of Lilith.

3. Choose one Romantic writer such as William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Walt Whitman, etc... and after researching your chosen author, see if you can find how the author may have influenced MacDonald in his writing of LILITH.

(see the answer keys)

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