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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Flaubert refers to himself as a bear and his sister as what animal?
(a) The alligator.
(b) The rabbit.
(c) The rat.
(d) The lion.

2. What should novelists who want to reproduce life's possibilities do?
(a) They should put a set of sealed envelopes with different endings in the back of their books.
(b) They should base their ideas on relgious books.
(c) They should write in teams.
(d) They should only draw their ideas from real events.

3. What does Geoffrey learn about Ed when he meets him at the restaurant?
(a) Ed has lost the book he hoped to exchange with Geoffrey.
(b) Ed has married.
(c) Ed wants to donate materials to the Flaubert museums.
(d) Ed has been fired.

4. After Flaubert published "Madame Bovary," what did Gertrude Collier Tenant publish?
(a) The letters written to her by Flaubert.
(b) A critique of "Madam Bovary."
(c) An edition of of her grandfather's journal.
(d) A romance novel.

5. Which condition best describes Flaubert at his death?
(a) Wealthy and unknown.
(b) Wealthy and famous.
(c) Impoverished and lonely.
(d) Impoverished but loved.

6. Who actually carried out the trick that resulted in Flaubert's find at the top of the Great Pyramid?
(a) The translator.
(b) Flaubert.
(c) Du Camp.
(d) Nabakov.

7. The chronology is divided into three sections, the first of which deals with which of the following?
(a) Details of Flaubert's life and successes.
(b) Flaubert's childhood.
(c) Critical response to Flaubert's work.
(d) Flaubert's works.

8. Flaubert's ideas in the third section of the chronology are expressed through which literary device?
(a) Hyperbole.
(b) Literary allusion.
(c) Personification.
(d) Metaphors.

9. What did Geoffrey do to ascertain the color of Madame Bovary's eyes?
(a) He read the original manuscript.
(b) He researched Flaubert's notes.
(c) He asked the guest lecturer.
(d) He reread the book.

10. When Gertrude's son-in-law, the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, was forced to get rid of his belongings during a trip, what book did he toss?
(a) "Madame Bovary."
(b) "Salammbo."
(c) A volume of Shakespeare.
(d) The Bible.

11. In the story, "Un coeur simple," what is Felicite's occupation?
(a) Seamstress.
(b) Prostitute.
(c) Servant woman.
(d) Teacher.

12. What particular criticism does Starkie have of Flaubert's characterization of Madame Bovary?
(a) He says that her eyes saw all when it was obvious she was often unaware.
(b) She says that there is no clear physical descriptiion in the book.
(c) She says that her temperament does not suit her actions.
(d) She says that he gives her differing eye colors in different chapters.

13. Which of the following animals does Flaubert not include in his letter to Bouilet?
(a) A lion.
(b) An ostrich.
(c) A donkey.
(d) A monkey.

14. Geoffrey maintains that mistakes like the professor pointed out in his speech are external mistakes, but Geoffrey is more concerned with internal mistakes which he considers to be what?
(a) Something designed to keep the reader alert.
(b) Untrue.
(c) Sloppy.
(d) Philosophically unsound.

15. What word does Geoffrey say that people are no longer allowed to use for describing lunacy?
(a) Mad.
(b) Idiot.
(c) Freak.
(d) Crazy.

Short Answer Questions

1. Although he had once thought of writing a book, what is Geoffrey's actual occupation?

2. What objects does Geoffrey Braithwaite, the narrator of "Flaubert's Parrot," describe in the beginning of the book?

3. Geoffrey thinks that if Flaubert had not been a bear he might have been what other animal?

4. As a student, what subject did Flaubert fail at?

5. In the newspaper article Flaubert saved, what was the parrot trained to say?

(see the answer keys)

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