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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 does Kip do with his partner's body?

2. Why does the English patient love the desert?

3. Where does Katharine tell her lover they must end their affair?

4. What does Kip find in the garden?

5. Which of the following is mentioned in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do you think of the relationship between Hana and the English patient by the end of Chapter 1? Why?

2. How would you describe the relationship between Katharine and the English patient?

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

4. Describe Hana's daily life in the villa.

5. What activities do Hana and the English patient do together?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some have identified the plot of "The English Patient" as somewhat confusing. Would you agree or disagree? Why?

Essay Topic 3

There are several instances of irony in Ondaatje's book. Identify at least one of these instances and describe why Ondaatje may have used irony when describing this particular situation.

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