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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 does Stoner come down with in Chapter XIV?

2. What do Stoner and Katherine begin at the end of Chapter XII?

3. What does Lomax claim was the reason that Stoner was prejudiced against Walker?

4. Where do Stoner and Katherine go for their only trip away together?

5. How does Stoner initially react to Walker's oral examination?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the set-up of Charles Walker's oral examinations described?

2. How does Charles Walker arrive to his first class with William?

3. How does Lomax react after William refuses to pass Charles Walker?

4. How is William able to get his preferred class schedule back from Lomax in Chapter XIV?

5. How does William find ways to see Katherine after he reviewed her dissertation?

6. How does William begin questioning the value of his life in Chapter XI?

7. How is William and Katherine's affair described at the beginning of Chapter XIII?

8. How does William react when Finch asks him if he wanted to be the new head of the English department?

9. How does Edith cause Grace to not be able to spend time with William as a child?

10. How does Finch try and help William not lose his job over his affair with Katherine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The theme of family is one presented several times throughout the book. Part 1.) What kind of relationship did William have with his parents and what impact did this relationship have on his actions later in life? Part 2.) How is Edith's view of family flawed due to her experiences with her family growing up? Part 3.) Considering William and Edith's family lives, how does their creation of their own family appear somewhat ironic and why is this significant?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the concept of introversion that is portrayed in the book. What is the author saying about the nature of being introverted based on his portrayal of William and Sloane in the book?

Essay Topic 3

The concept of learning is one that brought much joy to the book's protagonist. Part 1.) What does learning represent to William and why is he so passionate about it? Part 2.) How does success and ambition hinder William's ability to learn and fulfill his love of knowledge? Part 3.) What role does learning have in better understanding and defining William's nature?

(see the answer keys)

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