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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 Werther continually assert in the letter of March 15 about his social faux pas?

2. What aspect of humanity does Werther assert, in the letter of October 26, makes him want to "tear his heart open"?

3. What does Werther imagine about Albert in the letter of October 10?

4. Which town does Werther visit, as related in the letter of May 5?

5. What does Werther find trying about his employer?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reaction does Werther have to the news about the walnut trees in the courtyard of the vicarage?

2. How does Werther perceive Count C.?

3. What does Werther do during the flood of the river near Wahlheim, and why is this episode significant?

4. How does Werther describe the Ambassador?

5. What bothers Werther about many of the people he meets?

6. What has caused the man Werther meets in the letter of November 30 to act the way he does?

7. Summarize Werther's thoughts on the relationship between contentment and reason, as expressed in the letter of November 30.

8. How does Werther's relationship with God seem to change from its prior state toward the end of the letter of November 30, and how does Werther express his feelings about this change?

9. What does Werther find out in the letter of December 1 about the man he met by the water, and how does he find this out?

10. How does Miss von B. respond to Werther's humiliation, as related in the letter of March 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of Ossian in the novel. Who is Ossian (both ostensibly and actually), and why does Werther place him in such high regard? What effect does reading Ossian have on Werther? How does he relate to the work and its contents? Offer a close-reading of the fragment of Ossian the Editor quotes. Carefully analyze this portion of the text. Pay close attention to word choice, setting, imagery, figurative or metaphorical language, references, and the tone of the passages. How do you interpret this passage based on a close study of the connotations of all of these aspects of the text? What is its overall effect upon the reader? How do you feel this passage relates to Werther's own story, feelings and thoughts? Why might this passage and the subsequent ones which reflect on Colma's situation affect Werther and Lotte so profoundly? How might the voices of Ryno, Alpin, and the narrator of the fragment be interpreted by Werther and Lotte to be the voices of Werther's nearest and dearest friends and acquaintances?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the theme of suicide and the way Goethe addresses the morality and justifiability of it throughout the novel. Does Werther's pitiable state of mind, his decimated feelings, and his unrequited love excuse, or explain, his choice? How does Werther convince himself that suicide is the right and only path for him? What events, people, or feelings influence his decision? What is each main character's position on the morality or justifiability of suicide? What was the effect of Werther's suicide on Goethe's readers and critics: how did they interpret this act? How does the Editor influence what you perceive as the novel's overall message regarding suicide?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Werther as a character. Focus not only on how he looks and acts, but also specifically on how he expresses his feelings and thoughts, how he fits or does not fit into society, his tone and personality, and the general development of his character. How does he begin the novel, and how does he end it? What are his relationships with others like, and what are they based upon? What is Werther's worldview? How does he view himself? What is his style of writing?

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