View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Demon sees Ada, what about her appearance can he not bear?

2. What was Van wearing the first time she glimpsed him, before they met?

3. What article does Uncle Dan try to read?

4. At the table at Ardis Hall, who does Lucette sit between?

5. When writing her husband from sanatoriums, Aqua sometimes used a Russian term meaning what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Ada do when Dr. Krolik died?

2. What is the first trick Ada and Van use to escape from Lucette?

3. How does Aqua kill herself?

4. How does Lucette want to draw flowers, when her sister is trying to teach her to draw?

5. What does Blanche look like as she is ready to leave?

6. What causes Lucette to follow Ada and Van around in Chapter 34?

7. How does young Van feel about Ada?

8. How does Van feel about Marina?

9. How does Ada act when she tells stories at the table?

10. What does Marina chastise Van for, after calling him into her room?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss vanity in the novel.

1) Van is described in the novel as vain. Does Van love himself more than any other? Is he proud? What characterizes his vanity?

2) Is Van's vanity an essential element of his attraction to Ada? Is he attracted to her because of her similarities to himself?

3) What role does Van's vanity play in his career? How does it relate to his acrobatic show? How does it relate to his psychological/philosophical books?

Essay Topic 2

Van has a privileged life. Discuss privilege in the novel.

1) What freedoms does Van's wealth and status allow him? How would his life be different if he weren't wealthy?

2) How is it significant that Van has an independent inheritance from Aqua and is not dependent on Demon for money?

3) What is Van's perception of his position of privilege, and how does this perception change throughout his life, from youth to old age?

Essay Topic 3

The novel follows Van and Ada from their youth through their old age. Discuss aging in the novel.

1) How does Van change throughout his life? Are his physical changes separable from his mental and emotional changes?

2) How do the characters' values and priorities change over time? What is important to them in their youth and as they grow older?

3) How do the characters' perceptions of the world around them and of their own relationship change as they age?

4) What meaning does the approach of death have for Van and Ada?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 782 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample