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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. To what does the author of the letter compare the young man at the end of this section?

2. What does the author say he hates?

3. What does the author say the actual experience of love is?

4. In what form is EITHER/OR written?

5. According to the author, what happens to the value of an original, or first, thing if it may be repeated?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author write about his feelings of devotion for his wife?

2. What does the author say to the suggestion that the wedding ceremony "halts lovers"?

3. What is the author's problem with the vows in the marriage ceremony?

4. How many types of love does the author write there are? What are they?

5. Describe the church wedding that the author says caused the young man to fume.

6. What interests the author in a certain engraving dramatizing the story of Cain and Abel?

7. What does the author write about egotistic depression?

8. How does the author describe romantic love?

9. What is the author's stated intention?

10. Describe the fantasy marriage the author proposes to the young man.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author discusses the forms of love extensively in EITHER/OR. How many different forms of love does the author identify? How are they distinct from one another and how do they relate to one another? What is the place of each form of love in a man's life? How does each form of love relate to marriage? Discuss citing specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Both the author of the letter and the letter's recipient are men. Discuss the influence of gender in EITHER/OR. How might the letter be different if it were written by or to a woman? Why do you think both of the characters are men? Discuss citing specific examples.

Essay Topic 3

What are the characteristics of the author of the letter? What kind of man is he? What is his life like? Create and defend a detailed portrait of the author of the letter citing specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 793 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample