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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. Where in the villa does Hana sleep?

2. What does Caravaggio find and play music on?

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

4. Why do the English patient and his companions have to move during the night?

5. What does the reader know about Katharine from Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Hana's conversation with Caravaggio in the library after Kip and his partner arrive at the villa.

3. How does Chapter 5 foreshadow later events in the novel?

4. How does the narrator recount the English patient's adventures in the desert?

5. Describe how Caravaggio finds out that Hana is at the villa.

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

7. How is the topic of companionship explored in Chapter 4?

8. What is the general purpose of Chapter 4? Is it effective?

9. Describe the setting of Chapter 1.

10. Describe Kip and his fascination with religious symbols.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The villa is a significant part of Ondaatje's story. What does the wall symbolize? What similarities can you give between the wall and characters' qualities?

Essay Topic 2

Identify the concept of a tragic hero (or heroine). Describe one character in Ondaatje's book that you think can be described as a tragic hero, and explain what makes them fit the description. Why does Ondaatje decide to include this particular character in his book? What does he or she represent?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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