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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. After the hearing, who is it that asks David how the hearing went?

2. When David agrees to go for a walk with Lucy, what must he borrow from her?

3. Who describes taking a liking to poetry being like falling in love?

4. At the end of the Chapter 11, where does Lucy begin to walk to?

5. When David decides to get a lawyer, who does he contact?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12, why is David amazed that Bill Shaw comes to the hospital to pick him up after his burns are treated?

2. When Lucy asks why David isn't trying to justify his actions at the university, what reason does he offer?

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

4. What is it about Soraya's character does David find appealing?

5. When David first learns of the charge of harassment, what is his estimation of Melanie's active part in the charge?

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

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

8. After class, David comments that if he were alone with Melanie, he would call her "his little dove" and embrace her. Why then does he treat her so sternly?

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

10. While David pleads guilty, he will not say that he repents. What is his reason for refusing this request to sign a repentance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 12. Explain how Lucy's rape altered her personality. Discuss Lucy's remarks about the issue of racism and inherent guilt in South Africa and how this guilt influences her beliefs and actions thus far in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 21. The memories triggered by watching Melanie's play are insightful. They are, very much his version of events and of women. Nonetheless, how does this reverie work to define David and what is important to him?

Essay Topic 3

Review David and Lucy's relationship in Chapters 7, 8, and 9. How might their relationship be representative of a generational gap? Is Lucy's stand and concerns in any way a reaction to her parents' lives or is her simplistic life one she freely chose?

(see the answer keys)

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