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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Chapter 9 opens with David watching television. What is he watching?
(a) A soccer match.
(b) A wrestling match.
(c) Baseball.
(d) Cricket.

2. Where does Lucy tell her father she wants to go when they see each other on the morning after the attack?
(a) She wants to see her mother.
(b) She wants to go to see Helen.
(c) She wants to go to England.
(d) She wants to go home.

3. Which person confesses a strong liking for the poetry of Wordsworth?
(a) David.
(b) Adrienne Rich.
(c) Byron.
(d) Melanie.

4. On the way home, what does Lucy accuse her father of?
(a) Thinking that she cannot continue to support herself.
(b) Thinking she is wasting her time.
(c) Thinking she should have friends who are of a higher social class.
(d) Thinking she should lose weight.

5. On the day of the exam in David's class, what does he find in his mailbox?
(a) A note from Melanie saying she is not prepared for the exam.
(b) A note from Melanie's boyfried informing David that Melanie is sick.
(c) Melanie's withdrawal card.
(d) Melanie's exam.

Short Answer Questions

1. On the day after David and Melanie's date, what disappoints David?

2. On the walk David and Lucy go on near her house, they discuss the cycads. What are cycads?

3. Who is Manas Mathabane?

4. Who is Elaine Winter?

5. In Chapter 10, when David goes to the animal clinic to help Bev, how does he assist?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Melanie is with David in his daughter's room, why might Melanie have such an interest in David's previous sexual conquests?

2. In what way might Lucy's concern for flowers and animals be representative of an archetypal figure in literature?

3. What does Bev's acceptance of David, even after he tells her of his forced resignation, suggest about her?

4. What might David Lurie offer in his defense of his sexual relations with Melanie Isaacs, his student?

5. How do you interpret Melanie's lukewarm acceptance of David Lurie into her flat and into her life?

6. When David puts on soft music and offers wine, he describes this as a ritual. What is this a ritual for?

7. How does Melanie's cousin Pauline treat David over the telephone when he calls for Melanie?

8. When David meets with his ex-wife Rosalind, how does she treat the news that David is accused of harassing a student?

9. Interpret the last sentence of the chapter, "A shadow of envy passes over him for the husband he has never seen."

10. David describes Melanie as "clever enough, but unengaged." What might the attraction to such a person suggest about David?

(see the answer keys)

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