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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 body marks does the chubby woman on the train have?

2. Who is the journalist with whom the narrator speaks at the party?

3. Which of the following does NOT describe Philip's car?

4. During what war time was Anne-Marie born?

5. What is the nature of the narrator's relationship with Claude?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author foreshadow Philip's death as he and Anne-Marie drive to the countryside?

2. What are Philip's feelings about Anne-Marie and any future they might have in Chapter 16?

3. What can be said about the narrator's reducing women to little more than sexual objects?

4. How does the narrator's interaction with the Wheatlands in Paris force him to think about his life of solitude?

5. What is the state of Billy and Cristina's marriage when the narrator returns to Paris to visit them?

6. What is revealed about Philip's personality from his actions?

7. What part does arrogance play in the narrator's solitary lifestyle?

8. Explain why Philip is so annoyed by Anne-Marie's friend, Danielle.

9. How does the author provide some foreshadowing of Philip's future?

10. Where does the narrator plan to stay while in Autun?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the ongoing conflict inside Philip, especially regarding Anne-Marie. What is the source of the conflict? Why does it perpetuate?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the significance of the book's title. What did the author mean by calling the novel A SPORT AND A PASTIME? Cite an example to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The narrator and Philip are both important to the premise of the story. Compare and contrast Philip and the narrator. What similarities do they share? How are they different?

(see the answer keys)

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