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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 crime does Pierre say he was accused of?

2. What job does Cincinnatus take on in his twenties?

3. How long does the letter say Cincinnatus will have to wait for the interview?

4. What is Cincinnatus's lawyer looking for when he visits Cincinnatus?

5. What does Cincinnatus repeat?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the lawyer, the prison director, and Rodion characterize Cincinnatus' behavior?

2. After telling his "joke," what does Pierre say about how Cincinnatus looks?

3. What does Cincinnatus hear in the prison hallway?

4. What causes Cincinnatus to finally be caught?

5. Describe Pierre's circus performance.

6. What faults and virtues does Pierre say that the director has?

7. Describe the inside of the prison.

8. Why does Pierre turn into a circus performer?

9. What relatives does Marthe bring with her the first time she visits Cincinnatus in prison?

10. Besides how long Cincinnatus has until his execution, what else does Cincinnatus want to know from his captors? What is their response?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Absurd and surreal events occur throughout the novel. Discuss the unreality of the novel.

1) In what ways could the novel be considered surrealist? In what ways is it not surrealist?

2) Do the events of the novel reflect Cincinnatus's mind, or do they reflect an objective reality? Is Cincinnatus subconsciously in control of the events?

3) Why does the author use incongruous and dreamlike events in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss symbolism and metaphor in the novel.

1) What things are described as being off-center in the novel? What does this represent in the novel?

2) What does the spider represent in the novel? What does the moth that is almost fed to the spider represent?

3) What do nonnons represent? Why does Cecelia C. tell the story of nonnons?

4) Why does Cincinnatus take himself apart several times during the novel? What does this represent? What do some of the other absurd or surreal events in the novel represent?

5) What does the prison itself represent? Do the characters have symbolic or metaphoric meaning?

Essay Topic 3

Cincinnatus's mother Cecelia C. is one of the few people to visit him in prison. Discuss Cecelia C.'s role in the novel.

1) What is Cincinnatus's attitude toward his mother?

2) Why does Cecelia C. come to see him in prison? What does her attitude toward Cincinnatus seem to be? Why did she abandon her son, and why does she come to see him again?

3) How is Cecelia C.'s visit different from the other visits Cincinnatus receives in prison? How is he similar to his mother? How are they different? What affect does the visit have on Cincinnatus?

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