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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 William tell Adso to do in ‘Fifth Day’?

2. Who is Adso supposed to follow in ‘Fifth Day’?

3. What happens to Ubertino?

4. For whom had the woman come the previous night in ‘Fourth Day’?

5. What does William think about Adso’s sin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What additional clothing is Severnius’s corpse wearing?

2. What might be ‘dangerous’ about the book’s form?

3. What does William try to illustrate by talking about the river?

4. What signs are there that Berengar is in trouble in ‘Third Day’?

5. Where were William’s eyeglasses in ‘Fourth Day’?

6. Who starts the fire at the abbey?

7. What happens to Benno in ‘Fifth Day’?

8. How do William and Adso use their knowledge of the library in ‘Third Day’?

9. Who left in ‘Sixth Day’ knows the secrets of the library?

10. What is Benno mostly ignorant of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Judgment Day, the Apocalypse, and the Antichrist are frequent references throughout the novel. Why might these be significant? Are they truly the clue to the mysteries and murders taking place? If not, why might Eco have chosen to discuss them in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

The book shows two inquisitors, Bernard Gui and William, though he is not acting in this official capacity. How do the two men differ in their approaches? What has William done in the past while conducting inquisitions? How might their methods be the same? Different?

Essay Topic 3

The rose is mentioned only in passing throughout the book, yet constitutes the title. What is the meaning of the rose? How is it mentioned in the text, and how might it be seen as a metaphor?

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This section contains 454 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample