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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 narrator compare the common themes running through Ottilie's journals?

2. What building does the architect persuade Charlotte to restore?

3. What conflicting feelings continuously torment Ottilie?

4. How did Charlotte find out Eduard had joined the military?

5. How does Eduard envision Otto will be raised?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe Luciane, Charlotte's daughter from her first marriage.

2. What foreign visitor comes to the estate, and how do his views impact Charlotte and Ottilie?

3. What event at the end of Part II, Chapter 8, is saturated with both happiness and grave foreboding, and how?

4. What is the schoolmaster's general philosophy on teaching?

5. What plans does the architect have for the church?

6. What is the first faux pas the foreign visitor commits, and why is it a social flub?

7. How does Ottilie respond to the tragedy involving herself and Otto?

8. Whom does Eduard meet when he walks through his own estate, and what is the significance of their meeting?

9. How does Eduard respond to the tragedy involving Ottilie and Otto?

10. Briefly summarize the story the foreign visitor tells to Charlotte and Ottilie.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role of Herr Mittler and the theme of mediation in the novel. What is Herr Mittler's role, and how does he "play his part" by interacting in specific ways with the other characters? How does the narrator act as a mediator between the reader and the characters, plot, and moral of the story? Mediation means to "come between" things--are there any other mediating forces in the novel, besides Mittler, such as other characters, events, settings, objects, ideas, and so on?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Eduard and the Captain (later the Major). What is the relationship between the two men and does this relationship change over the course of the novel? How are their characters similar, and how do they differ? What informs each man's thoughts, feelings, and decisions? How does each man react to his own desires, and to adversity? Does the narrator describe each man and his respective feelings, thoughts, and actions in any particular way that offers insights or critiques into his character?

Essay Topic 3

Choose two minor characters and discuss their significance to the main plot elements in which they appear, and how their presence, actions, or influence contribute to the thematic development of the novel as a whole. What are these minor characters' relationships with the four main characters, what social class do they occupy, and what of their personality traits seem important to you in describing their influence? How do the minor characters interact with and affect the main characters of the novel? What specific role do they have in the plot episode in which they appear? Do you think these characters or their presence in the novel symbolize anything? Suggestions for minor characters include: Herr Mittler, the architect, Luciane, Nanni, the Count, the Baroness, the schoolmaster, and the Englishman.

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