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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. What animal comes into the English patient's bedroom?

2. With whom does the English patient fall in love during the desert exploration?

3. How is the English patient's true identity revealed in Chapter 4?

4. What organization does the English patient belong to?

5. What does Hana tell Caravaggio in the library?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event in Chapter 3 brings Hana and Kip closer together?

2. Describe the relationship between Caravaggio and Hana.

3. How does the English patient behave when he and Katharine are apart?

4. Describe the setting of Chapter 1.

5. Why does Katharine decide to breaks off her affair with the English patient?

6. What purpose does the piano serve in the villa?

7. What is Katharine's first reaction when she falls in love with the English patient?

8. How does the entry of Geoffrey Clinton into the story change the plot?

9. How and why is Caravaggio tortured by the Germans?

10. What is Hana's reaction to Caravaggio's arrival at the villa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of the English patient and Caravaggio. How are their lives different? How are the characters the same?

Essay Topic 2

What is the tone of "The English Patient"? Why would Ondaatje choose to write the story in this type of tone? What impact does the tone have on the way the reader perceives the characters and sequence of events?

Essay Topic 3

What effect does World War II have on Ondaatje's novel? How does it add to the story? What impact does the war have on characters, and how might they be different had the story been set during a different time?

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