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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. To whom does Hana write a letter before she leaves the villa?

2. Why doesn't Hana believe Caravaggio about the English patient's identity?

3. Who has become addicted to morphine?

4. Why was the English patient leaving Gilf Kebir?

5. What does Caravaggio give the English patient in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In Chapter 7, what does the reader learn about traditions in Sikh families? How are these traditions different in Kip's family?

3. Why would the English patient need to be particularly careful around Geoffrey Clifton? What was significant about his character?

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

5. How are Caravaggio and the English patient similar in their motivation for love in this chapter?

6. How does Kip save another life from being lost after Lord Suffolk?

7. How is the symbol of the Western religious icon brought into Chapter 10?

8. What revelation does Kip have regarding his tendency to seek out affectionate relationships?

9. Explain the reasoning behind Caravaggio wanting to drug the English patient.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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