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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 does Mr. Larkin promise to do for Claude in Part 2, Chapter 13?

2. Why does Claude begin to go to the movies?

3. When Emma stops going to work, what does Al Johnson do at Claude's request?

4. What does Claude's mother do when she comes home from her job of driving a taxi?

5. What is the status of Emma's job when she returns to New York City after being questioned about communist activities?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence is there that Claude does not relate well to children, especially regarding the movies and Catherine Marsh?

2. Compare the effect Claude's piano playing has on him with the effect Emma's letter-writing on the typewriter has on her.

3. Why is driving a cab an unusual choice of work for Emma, Claude's mother?

4. Regarding the music store, how does Claude show his love for Mr. Weisfeld after Mr. Weisfeld's death?

5. Why does Lady respond the way she does to Claude's single-minded focus on preparing for the concert with Aldo Frescobaldi?

6. Contrast Peter Fisk's feeling for music with Claude's feeling for music.

7. What is the reason for Claude's choice when he decides between staying in London with Catherine or returning to America to work?

8. While Lady and Claude live in the townhome in Manhattan, what do we learn about Lady from her jobs and activities, and her attitude toward Claude after Mr. Weisfeld dies?

9. How does Mr. Weisfeld's influence on Claude help Claude cope with Catherine Fisk's attitude toward him?

10. How does Mr. Powers' investigation into Claude's past affect Claude?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What clues or hints does the author provide that help prepare you for the ending of the story? Do you think these clues are important as you read the story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

How is the social class and occupation of each character important? How does the economic, political, and social environment affect the lives of Emma and Claude and Lady Powers? Give examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

At what two or three points in the story is the tension highest? Lowest? How does the author create the highest and lowest degrees of tension? Are the situations which involve tension appropriate to the plot structure? Why or why not? Does Body and Soul as a whole seem high- or low-tension? Why or why not?

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