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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 has Amy told her children has happened to their father?

2. What railway station does the author live near?

3. Where did the author meet Dirk?

4. What does Crabbe begin to write?

5. What does the author say nature has made Dirk into?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind of painting does Dirk paint?

2. How does Crabbe describe Strickland in Chapter 6?

3. Why does Strickland say he is looking forward to painting the plumber?

4. What does Strickland say he has been doing for the previous five years?

5. How does the author describe Strickland's appearance?

6. How does Crabbe describe Mrs. Strickland?

7. How do Crabbe and Dirk find Strickland?

8. Why does Dirk say he can't get into his apartment?

9. Who is Dirk Stroeve?

10. How does Blanche surprise the author?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Maugham suggest is the nature of genius? Why is Charles Strickland considered a genius?

Essay Topic 2

What suggestions are there earlier in the book that Charles Strickland would become the artist he eventually became? What does it express about the nature of art and the artist that someone as seemingly dull as Strickland can become a renowned artist?

Essay Topic 3

Is the attraction between Strickland and Blanche is mutual? How does the author foreshadow that Blanche will fall for Strickland?

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