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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 is the difference in time for the trip to Rouen by train for Geoffrey than it was in Flaubert's time?

2. What does Geoffrey notice that the trains pass as they leave the station in Croisset?

3. What animal does Flaubert dream about in the dream Geoffrey includes in the psychoanalysis section of the examination?

4. Who was known as Flaubert's second mother?

5. What did Flaubert never do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Geoffrey think that people want to know the worst?

2. Who are two of Flaubert's relatives who are given an entry in Braithwaite's dictionary?

3. In what ways did Flaubert want Louise to be like him?

4. Why did Flaubert hate railroads?

5. Why does Geoffrey say that Flaubert's fantasies were no longer needed when he was thirty-five?

6. Name one subject area included in the examination paper that you would consider unrelated to Flaubert's life and works. Explain your answer.

7. What two women are compared and found to be remarkably similar?

8. Why does Geoffrey think about books that authors didn't write?

9. How is Flaubert's dream described in the examination section on Psychoanalysis?

10. Describe three life plans Flaubert dreamed of.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you think the reader is led to believe from the beginning that Geoffrey will find the actual parrot that once sat on Flaubert's desk? Comment on why or why not and analyze the book as a mystery story, describing its twists and turns.

Essay Topic 2

Geoffrey says that individuals always want to know the worst about the people in their lives; however, he also says that individuals always want to know the best about the authors they read.

1) Explain why Geoffrey believes this statement.

2) Give examples using his feelings towards Flaubert and his wife.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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