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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. Why isn't Caravaggio happy about Kip's plans in Chapter 10?

2. What year does Kip work with his mentor and his secretary?

3. Why did Clifton crash his plane?

4. Why did the English patient refer to Katharine as his wife?

5. What nationality does Caravaggio suspect the English patient is?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Katharine and the English patient fall in love.

2. Who is Miss Morden? Why is she significant to Kip?

3. Describe the scene in Naples that Kip tells to Hana.

4. In the beginning of Chapter 10, how does Kip prove that he is intentional about making his relationships with others solid?

5. Explain the conflict between Hana and Caravaggio concerning the English patient's identity.

6. What impact does the death of Lord Suffolk have on Kip? How does it affect his relationship with Hana?

7. How is prejudice brought up in Chapter 7?

8. Explain how the English patient came to be severely burned.

9. How does Hana resolve the issue of her father's death?

10. Is it surprising to you to find out that the English patient was a spy during the war? Why or why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of a foil in literature? Describe one character in Ondaatje's novel that you believe is a foil of another character. Why do you think Ondaatje may have created characters in his work that emphasize each other's qualities?

Essay Topic 2

How is Ondaatje's story ultimately resolved? Do you think the plot was adequately resolved? In your opinion, what could have been added (or removed) to make it more meaningful?

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?

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