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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 Clamence ask the auditor to bestow upon himself?

2. Why does someone in the crowd attack Clamence?

3. What should a master exercise power without?

4. What does Clamence accuse the Dutch of being?

5. What does Clamence realize about the woman that deceives him?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Clamence show himself to be a narcissist?

2. What is a deus ex machina?

3. Describe the Mexico City bar.

4. Describe the auditor

5. Describe Clamence's experience on the Pont de Arts.

6. How does Clamence see himself?

7. How is Clamence's role as a deus ex machina an accurate metaphor for his work with the demoralized criminals of Paris?

8. Why does Clamence say he strives to be selfless?

9. What is Clamence's opinion on slavery?

10. How does the narrator describe the bartender?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Clamence referring to when he states a death of a person brings them closer to us? Is this statement specific to his own personality or is he trying to attribute it to society in general?

Essay Topic 2

What are the difference between Dutch and French cultures. In what way is it significant that Camus uses these two countries to shape Clamence's ideas? Choose two different countries and discuss how the novel would change if these two countries were used instead of Holland and France.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the construction of Clamence's argument.

1) How does he introduce his ideas?

2) How does he deconstruct his ideas into a logical conclusion?

3) Are the ideas that Camus presents in his book, ideas that relate only the way Clamence lived his life or is the argument a critique of society in general?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 754 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample