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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 away is the harbor town where M and Tony need to pick up L?

2. What type of vehicle does Tony drive?

3. What was the narrator doing in Paris when she noticed a sign with a painting by L?

4. What does M tell L made her feel “dowdy and ugly, like a consolation prize” (57)?

5. Who does the narrator say she meant on a train at the start of the novel, which made the following years difficult?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the narrator tell L about his artwork's impact on her life when she invited him to stay in the second place?

2. What is M's impression of Brett when she first meets her?

3. How old was L when he first became famous? What did his critics find shocking about his early work?

4. In what ways did L and Tony's early experiences with death manifest differently in each man?

5. Who is the narrator speaking to at the start of the novel? What does she say happened while on a train in Paris?

6. What did Tony and M do to prepare the second place for L's arrival?

7. How does L behave at the harbor town when M and Tony first meet him?

8. What did Tony find after clearing the adjacent land he bought near the marsh? What did he do there?

9. What issue did Brett have with the bed linen in the second place? What did she want M to do?

10. Whose portrait did L tell M he wanted to paint? How did she feel that he did not wish to paint her? What did she say to him about this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Away from the main character examine the way the author uses the other characters in the story. When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 739 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample