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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. 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?

2. What did Flaubert's niece ask for after Flaubert's death?

3. What do Du Camp and Flaubert do the night before climbing the Great Pyramid?

4. What does Geoffrey learn about Ed when he meets him at the restaurant?

5. What does Geoffrey do on his last day in Rouen?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the three parts of Braithwaite's chronology about?

2. Why does Geoffrey think Flaubert might also be compared to a camel?

3. How did Ed happen to get the letters between Julie and Flaubert?

4. What is Flaubert's opinion of democracy?

5. What are several different parrots mentioned in the bestiary?

6. What is the plot of "Un coeur simple"?

7. Flaubert compares himself to many things. Name some of them.

8. What was the trick Flaubert planned to play at the Great Pyramid and what was the outcome?

9. What does Geoffrey find on the subject of Madame Bovary's eyes when he rereads the book?

10. Whose deaths greatly affected Flaubert's life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Julian Barnes uses a variety of styles and innovations in "Flaubert's Parrots." Discuss several of these, including but not limited to, the dictionary and the examination paper. Explain the effectiveness of each and comment on their limitations.

Essay Topic 2

Geoffrey dislikes critics; he points out the absurdity of the critic who found discrepancies in Flaubert's references to the color of Madame Bovary's eyes. He says that those kinds of discrepancies are internal problems, unlike external problems that are caused by a lack of research (giving the wrong date for a war in a novel, for example). Either defend Geoffrey's viewpoint or make an argument against it.

Essay Topic 3

Explain and provide details about Geoffrey's irritation with Ed Winterton, both because of Winterton's personality and because of the destruction he committed. In addition, comment on whether or not you feel Geoffrey's irritation was warranted.

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