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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. Who is Abo?

2. What is Severinus’s job at the abbey?

3. How does Salvatore speak?

4. What is William’s nationality?

5. At the time this book was written, who was the Pope?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Benno reveal about Adelmo?

2. What do the monks debate at the first dinner?

3. What two things disappear from Venantius’s desk in ‘Second Day’?

4. What does William help the Cellarer to find?

5. What does Berengar think he saw in ‘Second Day’?

6. Who does William already know at the abbey in ‘First Day’?

7. When does Adso write his manuscript?

8. How did Venantius die?

9. Why is Jorge so unnerving?

10. Who is the Emperor at the time of the events in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The rose is mentioned only in passing throughout the book, yet constitutes the title. What is the meaning of the rose? How is it mentioned in the text, and how might it be seen as a metaphor?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the Dominican order with the Franciscan order. What different beliefs do the two orders espouse? What might they have in common? What political causes might be linked to the different orders?

Essay Topic 3

A variety of languages, from Provençal to English to Latin, are used throughout the book. What is the significance of language in the novel? How do the “Italians” separate themselves from the others, and why is this important? How might reading this text in translation help us? Why did Eco not translate certain parts of French, Latin, and other languages found in the text?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 408 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample