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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 did Ezra Pound first meet Olga Rudge?

2. What does De Luigi tell the narrator they're going to do at the end of Chapter 11?

3. What does Laura Migliori say caused the most damage to the Fenice frescoes?

4. Who was the Fenice's custodian at the time of the fire?

5. What does Carella give as an excuse for being found in the attic of the Fenice in his street clothes?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Albert Gardin's suspicions about Stefani's death.

2. Describe the Rylands's involvement with Peggy Guggenheim.

3. Describe Gianpietro Zucchetta's view of the fire and Casson's investigation.

4. Describe the story of Daniel Curtis's expatriation to Venice.

5. Describe the Save Venice Regatta Week Gala.

6. Describe De Luigi and the narrator's activities at the end of Chapter 11 and how the police react.

7. Describe what Casson tells the narrator made him certain that Carella and Marchetti were guilty.

8. Describe Jane Rylands's involvement with Olga.

9. Describe the nature of Stefani's poetry based on what you read in Chapter 13.

10. Describe Mayor Costa's role in the Fenice rebuilding.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using Daniel and Patricia Curtis as examples, illustrate the novel's theme of the need to hang on to the past, and explain how this theme comes up within other stories in the book as well.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the conflict between nobility and democracy the narrator weaves at the Carnival ball in Chapter 6 through the narrative about the characters of Alvise Loredan and the "Rat Man" of Treviso, and explain how this conflict is relevant to Venetian culture as a whole.

Essay Topic 3

Describe what you believe about Enrico Carella's guilt or innocence by detailing Carella's perspective on what happened the night of the fire as well as what Felice Casson finds out that undermines his story, and then explain and back up your own opinion.

(see the answer keys)

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