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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. On what day of the month does Cromwell travel to Greenwich and hear a lot of news along the way?

2. How many times does Cromwell claim to have handled snakes in the past?

3. How does the screaming person react when Cromwell uses his father's advice?

4. When Part III: Angels begins, Cromwell has recently returned to London from what location?

5. How does Cromwell react to Chapuys's use of the term "bastard" (149)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Provide evidence for the conclusion that Rafe is loyal to Cromwell.

2. Discuss a moment in the narrative when hyperbole is used to underscore the powerful reputation of the Tudors.

3. For what reason does Anne feel grief in Chapter 3: Angels within Part One?

4. In what way is the motif of violence juxtaposed with the season depicted in Chapter 3: Angels in Part One?

5. Discuss an instance when Cromwell's sense of humor is portrayed within the narrative.

6. How does Mantel use personification in order to make a distinction between how truth and lies are respectively received?

7. For what reason is Cromwell grateful for the wisdom of his scoundrel father Walter in Chapter 1: The Black Book?

8. Cromwell states that one particular situation is not addressed within the Black Book. What is it and how is it related to the Great Chain of Being?

9. How does the theme of appearance versus reality appear within Chapter 3: Angels in Part One?

10. Who is the man Cromwell calls Fitz and how did the two men meet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Mantel’s novel Bring Up the Bodies. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Examine Mantel’s use of characterization methods to portray Henry the VIII within the narrative of Bring Up the Bodies. What effects do these characterization methods have on the themes and messages inherent in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Bring Up the Bodies and one of the novel's main messages. How does Mantel make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,153 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample