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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 is the occupation of the husband?

2. Where is the Grand Metropolitan located?

3. Poirot suggests that the deaths might be due to which of the following?

4. Who has become suspicious of the deaths and has hired Poirot to investigate the case?

5. What was the name of the place where the Prime Minister was being kept?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the occurrence that happened the night before the scheduled trip.

2. Where did the maid go when she left the room with the chambermaid inside?

3. What happens in the opening scene of the story? Who visits Poirot?

4. Captain Hastings and Poirot decide to take a short trip to get a change of scenery. Where do they go and what is the first thing they do upon arrival?

5. What actually happened to the Prime Minister? Who was responsible?

6. How do Poirot and Hastings learn about the official cause of the most recent victim? Who gave the men the news?

7. In addition to needing to know the truth about her husband's death, what other reason does Lady Williard have for wanting answers?

8. How was the murder scene set up by the killer? What did the killer forget to do?

9. Who is the first alleged guest to be interviewed by Poirot? What happened?

10. What seems to be the most difficult part of the trip for Poirot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout Agatha Christie's mysteries there are almost always staff members or servants of some kind. This is especially important in "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan." Examine how servants played an important role in the lives of the characters as well as in the stories. Why does Christie use this method of introducing characters? Is the use of servants a part of every day life for this type of main characters or are they used to distract the reader? In murder mysteries servants are often used as scapegoats. Is this an accurate portrayal? What is required of the servants upon being employed? Is the employer's level of trust given automatically or does it have to be earned?

Essay Topic 2

In "The Case of the Missing Will" Poirot must help Miss Marsh find a will that had been hidden by her uncle. If the will was not found, all of the uncle's money would go to charity rather than to Miss Marsh. There is a legal clause which makes this execution possible. Examine the process of making a will. What is the clause in the original will that would cause all of the money and property to go to charity if the new will was not found? What are Miss Marsh's legal rights in regards to both wills? What does it mean to contest a will? Who is in charge of drafting the will? Who were the witnesses? What leads Poirot to find the new will?

Essay Topic 3

In "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" police must conduct a crime scene investigation at the site of the theft of Mrs. Opalsen's necklace. Describe in detail how the investigation was carried out and how the police missed an important item. Compare and contrast the methods used in the story to modern day crime scene investigation techniques. What are the biggest advancements? Are there cases in which the "old school" ways are better? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 920 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample