View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. At whom is Baptiste angry?

2. Who admits breaking the Quimper bowl?

3. For what is Léonie searching when she moves forward through the room?

4. What does Thérèse assume is Léonie's secret?

5. How is Thérèse in competition with Madeleine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In chapter 3, Thérèse has left the monastery after being behind its walls for about twenty years. She feels disoriented and confused at life in the "real" world. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. How long do you think it will take Thérèse to adjust to the differences between a cloistered life and life among a diversity of people and places?

2. Why do you think Thérèse chose to close herself off from the "real" world? Are her motivations strictly spiritual? If she is alive after the ending of this story, do you think she will go back to the cloistered life? Why or why not?

3. Many men and women confined in a penal system for any duration of more than a few years find that they cannot adjust to "life on the outside," and often end up back in prison. Some even commit a crime in order to go back to prison. Why do you think this happens? Is there any way to help any person who has been isolated, whether in a penal system or otherwise, to adjust to a more public life? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

In chapter 6, Thérèse and Léonie have a meal together. Léonie takes special care in setting the table and choosing the menu. Choose one of the following questions and write a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. Follow the thread of food and eating that occurs throughout the novel, giving examples of that theme and an interpretation of the examples you choose.

2. Food is essential to the continuation of life, and thus is often offered symbolically as well as concretely in many cultures. Compare and contrast the symbolism of food in several diverse cultures.

3. Discuss how food is treated in advertisements in the country in which you live, including billboard advertisements, magazines, t.v., and radio. What is the main purpose of the advertisements? Are they successful? Do they sway you?

Essay Topic 3

Chapters 21 and 22 demonstrates the complexity of the Léonie and Thérèse's relationship when they are girls. Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:

1. Does Léonie and Thérèse's relationship seem more positive when they were children than as adults? Why or why not? Be sure to give specific examples to illustrate your stance.

2. Does the difference in Léonie and Thérèse's relationship as children versus adults have anything to do with the nature of friendships between children versus that of adults and upon what each group bases their friendships? Discuss.

3. In several chapters, there is a sexual innuendo that seems to be a part of Léonie and Thérèse's relationship as children. Do you agree with that statement--cite examples to support your stance? Do you think it is common for children of either the same sex or opposite sex to experiment with sex? Does this have any long-lasting effect upon their sexual orientation as adults? Did it in the case of Léonie and Thérèse?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 692 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample