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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 drug does Jess note Nick has?

2. Which of the following does the shadowy figure that startled Jess outside the building carry?

3. How does the novel gloss "arrête ça"?

4. As which of the following does Jess label her former employer?

5. What instrument does Mimi assume Ben plays?

Short Essay Questions

1. What warning does the concierge offer Jess as she makes for her first meeting with Mendelson (89)?

2. What relationship do Jess and Ben have?

3. What reasons does Ben note for feeling that “Jess could hardly have chosen a worse time to decide to come and stay” with him (1)?

4. What reasons are given for separating Ben and Jess via adoption?

5. What does Jess note is her main problem in life (24)?

6. What security measures does Jess note on the gate to the building where Ben lives?

7. Mimi notes that Camille "leaves [things] scattered around [the apartment] like it's an extension of her bedroom" (21); to what things does Mimi refer?

8. What history of the building does Nick rehearse to Jess?

9. What advice from her mother does Jess note was useful for her, although not for her mother?

10. Nick notes that "Normally [during exercise], I'd sit here and do a class, or listen to a Ted Talk" (40)? Why does he not do so?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

References to particular software platforms and businesses in the novel set it in a specific point in time. How might the novel have been different if set in another major cultural moment, such as the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s? Why would it have been different in those ways?

Essay Topic 2

Sources attest to the presence of The Paris Apartment on best-seller lists. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the novel? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 3

Much is made of the Parisian setting of the bulk of the novel. How might the novel have been different if set in another major world city, such as New York City, London, Los Angeles, Shanghai, or Rome? Why would it have been different in those ways?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 608 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample