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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. Besides being fiction, how else is the story described in the paragraph that is set before Chapter 1?

2. How are the Englishmen described?

3. Who is Aimée Thanatogenos?

4. What is poorly received by the studio heads?

5. What is Sir Ambrose's profession?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who arrives and what does he say to Sir Francis?

2. How does Dennis compare his present job with his time in Italy?

3. About what does the author warn readers?

4. What does Dennis find when he enters the Slumber Room?

5. With what makeover is Sir Francis having difficulty?

6. What does the receptionist say to Dennis about burials?

7. Describe the Orchid Room when Dennis visits Whispering Glades the day before Sir Francis' funeral.

8. What does Sir Francis Hinsley say about Americans?

9. What do the men discuss about Juanita del Pablo?

10. What does Sir Francis learn when he next arrives at the studio?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many novels, and perhaps a majority, of novels ends on a happy note. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think many (most?) people want what they perceive as a happy or good ending to a novel? Explain your opinion. Do you? Why or why not?

2. The Loved One does not end on a happy note. Discuss, in depth, how do you think this type of ending affects a reader's overall satisfaction with the book?

3. What are three reasons to read fiction? Discuss each one in light of The Loved One and whether or not it fulfills all three, two or one of the reasons you mention. Give examples as to why The Loved One is or is not successful in fulfilling the reasons you discuss.

4. Do you think reading solely for entertainment is as good a reason to read as any other? Why or why not? Can any work of fiction or non-fiction, no matter how poorly written, enlighten, teach, stimulate thought? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Dennis reminds Aimee that she pledged her troth to him, and she is again thrown into a quandary. Her sense of honor will not allow her to go back on her word, and Dennis refuses to release her from the promise. Still, she knows that she could never marry him now, not only because of the hoax concerning the poems but because she considers his job to be beneath her dignity.

Dennis tries to wiggle out of his predicament by stressing a detail, which is that he never actually said the poems were written by him, and he is quite surprised to see that what works is the promise she made to him at the Lovers' Nook. Dennis is so removed from considerations of honor that he could not even conceive that Aimée's pledge would hold her. Indeed, his interest in the marriage increasingly looks like a game he wants to win, simply because winning is good. When a distraught Aimée telephones Mr. Joyboy, she gets exactly what she would have expected, had she been a more insightful person. He is busy with his mother, and it is not convenient for him to see her, even though he can tell that a visit from him is important to her.

1. Do you think Aimee's sense of honor is a positive or negative value? Why? Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss, in depth, what type of person Dennis must be to hold a woman to a pledge of marriage when she wants out and to look upon making her marry him as a game. Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

3. What should Aimee figure out from Mr. Joyboy putting his mother before her? What do you think Aimee should do about Mr. Joyboy and Dennis? Why do you think she does what she did? Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast the characters of Mr. Joyboy and Dennis. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.

2. Compare/contrast the characters of Aimee and Dennis. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?

3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in The Loved One help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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