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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 name of Ganesha's compound?

2. Which word best describes Larry's voice?

3. Why is Maugham upset?

4. What play does Maugham go to see in this chapter?

5. In what country does Gray start looking for work?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Larry say he has had trouble believing in Christianity?

2. What does Larry learn about evil in India?

3. What does Maugham imagine about Isabel and Gray's life in Texas?

4. Explain what Larry sees and feels when he experiences the Absolute?

5. What is the story of Sophie's disappearance?

6. Do you think there is anything suspicious about the incident with the vodka?

7. In what ways does the story end happily?

8. In what way does Maugham criticize the church?

9. Why does Isabel leave the vodka to tempt Sophie?

10. How does Isabel react to Sophie's disappearance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick a character from the novel and discuss his goals and motives. Does he achieve his motive? Does he share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do his goals clash with other characters' goals? How do the characters goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the novel's chronological setting.

1) What were the main concerns during the 1920's. How does Maugham express these concerns?

2) In what ways do you think the novel's meaning would change if it were set in today's society?

Essay Topic 3

Review the history of the stock market in 1929. When and why was it set up? What effects did it have on the running of society? Why was it such a problem when the stock market crashed in 1929 and how did it affect peoples lives?

(see the answer keys)

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