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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 is one intention of Melanie's that David learns from the phone call that he receives shortly before giving the exam?

2. Chapter 9 opens with David watching television. What is he watching?

3. What does David prepare for dinner?

4. When David agrees to go for a walk with Lucy, what must he borrow from her?

5. What is one piece of advice that the Vice Rector of the university gives David?

Short Essay Questions

1. When David first learns of the charge of harassment, what is his estimation of Melanie's active part in the charge?

2. When Melanie is with David in his daughter's room, why might Melanie have such an interest in David's previous sexual conquests?

3. When David goes to visit Lucy, what is his observation of Lucy's country life?

4. When Melanie's boyfriend is in the class, the other students are even quieter than they usually are. How might one interpret this silence?

5. Why is it important to David that Lucy is as he puts it a "woman of passion?"

6. What might David Lurie offer in his defense of his sexual relations with Melanie Isaacs, his student?

7. When Lucy asks why David isn't trying to justify his actions at the university, what reason does he offer?

8. After Melanie's boyfriend confronts David in his office, he comes to class with Melanie. What is his purpose for this visit?

9. Of what significance is it that Soraya wiped off her makeup so readily when David asked her to?

10. What might one make of David's abundance of notes on Byron rather than recognizing that the "two fat files" of notes might be enough to begin writing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 16. The character of Petrus is not as fully realized as other characters, namely David, Lucy and Bev. Nonetheless, he is an important character. Explain what role Petrus plays in the character development of the other characters.

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 19. David comments that before this, he thought that after a certain age, it wasn't possible to learn lessons. How is this decision at odds with David's comments at his hearing regarding his involvement with Melanie?

Essay Topic 3

Review David and Lucy's relationship in Chapters 7, 8, and 9. How might their relationship be representative of a generational gap? Is Lucy's stand and concerns in any way a reaction to her parents' lives or is her simplistic life one she freely chose?

(see the answer keys)

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