View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Léonie go and lie down?

2. Over what does Léonie feel cowardly?

3. What does Léonie do when she's feeling the way she is at the moment?

4. Who is nearby when Thérèse experiences a vision?

5. What do the two girls criticize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapters 18 and 19 both obliquely refer to the rape of Antoinette by a German soldier during WWII. There are a number of references throughout the text that implies that Thérèse, and perhaps even Léonie is a product of this rape. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. List and discuss the references throughout the novel that suggests that Antoinette is raped by a German soldier. Include dreams, conversations, and any other sources. What is your interpretation of the textual evidence?

2. Discuss the references that suggest that Thérèse is a product of the rape. Are there references that imply that Léonie is not only Thérèse's sister, but her twin and is a product of the same rape? Find those references also. What do you believe about the parentage of the two girls? Support your statements with specific textual references.

3. Breasts are an obvious symbol of maternity in that women breastfeed their children. Discuss the implications of Antoinette's breast cancer and her role as a mother juxtaposed next to the fact that she is raped.

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 15, we learn that the wood floors of the house are marked by the German soldiers' boots, and the original red tiles are permanently ruined, and Antoinette has had carpet put down to cover these marks. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. How are the floors symbolic of psychological scars and whose scars? Give details and examples.

2. There seems to be a general conspiracy to cover wounds of the past in this story. Who decides to figuratively pull the rugs out from under everyone's feet and reveal what is under them and why does she decide to do so?

3. Do you think it is healthy to "cover up" past scars so that one does not have to think about them? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

A literary technique called "foreshadowing" is seen in Chapter 11. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. What theme/idea do you think is foreshadowed in this chapter? (hint: it has something to do with Thérèse's relationship to her "father," Louis. Give examples of both what is foreshadowed and where the theme/idea again appears later in the story.

2. What are literary techniques? Name several of the most common and define them.

3. Take the literary techniques you define in question number 2 and give examples of their occurrence in this story or some other piece of literature or film.

4. Do you think authors intentionally plan to write in literary techniques such as foreshadowing? Explain

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 598 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample