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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 is the location of the hospital where Caravaggio is staying at the beginning of Chapter 2?

2. How does Kip's partner die?

3. For whom does Caravaggio work during the war?

4. Why has the library been cordoned off?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Kip and his fascination with religious symbols.

3. Describe how Hana and the English patient come to know each other.

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

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

6. In addition to the plane, what else comes along with the plane? Why is this important?

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

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

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

10. Though the English patient's profession is not overtly given, what do you think he does for a living? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The concept of companionship is present throughout this novel. What can readers learn about Ondaatje's characters in relation to others? Be sure to give specific examples.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think is the main theme of Onjaatje's novel? Identify at least three events in "The English Patient" that communicate this theme.

Essay Topic 3

Identify the climax of this story and the series of events leading up to the climax. How did characters respond to the climax? What did Ondaatje include in his story to insure that the climax would be as powerful and meaningful as possible?

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