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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. Who is Humbert?

2. 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?

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

4. What are Geoffrey's thoughts about when he likes to cross the channel?

5. Why does Geoffrey think that critics want to control literature?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Geoffrey think about omniscient authors of novels?

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

3. What does Geoffrey say about coincidences?

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

5. What examples of literary mistakes does the professor from Cambridge talk about?

6. What is ironic about the Flaubert's burial?

7. What places does Geoffrey go to learn more about Gustave Flaubert?

8. Explain why Flaubert refers to himself as a bear, and particularly as a white one.

9. Describe Ed Winterton.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Geoffrey tells the reader that he understands Flaubert better than he understands his wife. Explain what you think Geoffrey means by this statement using specific examples. Comment on why or why not you think people might be able to understand historical or literary figures more fully than individuals in their own lives.

Essay Topic 2

Flaubert's family influenced his life in many ways. Discuss Flaubert's relationship with his mother, his father, and his sister. Include details about the secret he kept from his mother, his father's contributions to his career, and his sister's death.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the idea of the train as a symbol in "Flaubert's Parrot." Include details about Flaubert's attitude toward trains and his use of the train, and explain how trains function symbolically.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 662 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample