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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. Where does Joe, the man Nick meets in the bar, live?

2. Whose new mobile phone does Gerald use?

3. Who is the only one in the house excited about the Tippers' arrival?

4. What does Wani rename the Clerkenwell Building?

5. What does Mrs. Avison teach?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Lionel able to get in the house without alerting the press?

2. Why is Rachel so upset with Nick?

3. Who is Nat getting married to?

4. What does Nick fear most after reading the Edelman book?

5. How does Barry Groom react to his meeting with the Prime Minister?

6. What is the "different side" of the Prime Minister that Wani knows?

7. What does Penny document in her diary?

8. What does Sally Tipper look like?

9. What is on the cover of the premiere issue of Ogee?

10. How does the news of the affair between Gerald and Penny break in the media?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are women portrayed in the text? There are mothers, mistresses, annoying girlfriends, and a Prime Minister. Using the examples of the main female characters (Rachel, Catherine, Penny, Lady Partridge, Margaret Thatcher), what similarities can be seen in the female characters? How do the female characters influence the lives of the male characters?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the double meaning of Henry James' quote about being able to tolerate "a great deal of gilt." How does this quote relate to Nick's life?

Essay Topic 3

Early in the text, Nick receives a gift of cologne called "Je Promets". At the end of the novel, an ad for the cologne appears in the back pages of Ogee magazine. Explain the symbolism and significance of this cologne and how it represents the changes that have occurred in Nick's life.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 582 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample