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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. How far back in time must Fleur go to tell us the story of the Autobiographical Association?

2. What do Maisie and Fleur discuss during that first visit?

3. What is supposed to happen to the memoirs being written by the members of the Autobiographical Association?

4. Who does Dottie begin to confide in about her husband?

5. How many roses were delivered to Fleur the day she called in sick?

Short Essay Questions

1. Fleur describes the day she is sitting in the graveyard working on a poem as the last day of a whole chunk of her life, although she isn't aware of it at the time. Why do you think she feels this way?

2. How does Fleur react upon learning that Beryl Tims loves Sir Quentin?

3. How does Fleur react to the beginning manuscripts of the memoirs when she first begins her work?

4. Fleur calls in sick to work after the party. What happens when she does that shows how Fleur's attitude has changed toward her job?

5. How did Fleur feel about spending the evening in pub with Gray Mauser after her argument with Maisie?

6. What is the basis for the argument between Maisie Young and Fleur in Chapter 5?

7. How does Fleur spend that first meeting of the Association?

8. Describe the relationship between Fleur and her lover, Leslie.

9. What convinced Fleur that Sir Quentin had begun acting out an evil plan on the members of the Autobiographical Association?

10. What does Fleur realize about Maisie Young when Maisie comes to visit her apartment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While some confuse the idea of conflict with that of violence, this novel portrays the former with none of the latter. Until Lady Gilbert takes her own life, no one is physically harmed in the novel. Discuss the various conflicts that arise in the story, the antagonist and protagonist of each, and how each smaller conflict affects the larger conflict. Is there a clear winner in the end?

Essay Topic 2

Writers can describe the values of a culture or a society through characters who succeed in the culture, or conversely, are alienated from society. How do this novel's characters, through their success or alienation, reveal the 1949 London society's assumptions or moral values?

Essay Topic 3

Examine, through your impressions from Loitering with Intent, Muriel Spark's perspective on religion. The book includes at least three hints of her specific opinions about religion. Often, writers create metaphors through parallels - what does she use as a parallel to organized religion, and how does it describe her thoughts on the matter?

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