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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 Rasseneur?

2. What happens with the provident fund?

3. How do the other miners see Etienne at work?

4. Why can't Bonnemort work inside the Voreux anymore?

5. When did Bonnemort begin working in the mine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the mine with Chaval, Etienne and Catherine?

2. What happens to Etienne as he works in the mines, as far as his job is concerned?

3. What happens to Catherine at the Jean-Bart mine?

4. What do Etienne and Catherine decide to do after the tragedy?

5. How does Chaval's actions affect Catherine and how does Etienne feel about it?

6. What does Etienne tell Catherine about himself on his first day of work?

7. What does Lantier create for the miners to join and what is one of his first projects?

8. Chaval comes in the Advantage where Etienne is talking with Rasseneur. What does he announce and what happens between him and Etienne?

9. What happens at the Hennebeaus' house when they are hosting a party?

10. What does Mrs. Hennebeau do in the second section of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

By befriending a soldier, Lantier discovers he (Lantier) is not that different from the people against whom he is fighting. Both men share hopes, dreams and memories; both wish for the same kind of life and in the end, they can only be differentiated by the master they serve.

1. Do you think this statement could be true in any situation where one person or group of persons consider another an enemy? Use an example from the text and from life now in the United States to illustrate this statement.

2. If two enemies were placed in a room and had to stay together for one month without fighting do you think they would be enemies at the end of that month? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In the first chapter, everything is set in the dark of night; the only lighting is provided either by the moonlight or by the fire burning inside the chunks of coal.

1. Why do you think GERMINAL starts at night?

2. How does the dark relate to the book's themes?

3. Did you see any foreshadowing from the darkness in the beginning of the book? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The third section of the novel draws a portrait of the events that lead the miners to go on strike. It also shows the evolution of Étienne Lantier's political ideas.

1. What do you see as the stages in the evolution of Lantier's thinking from sympathy with the miners to action?

2. How might Etienne Lantier's own weaknesses have pushed him to organize the miners?

3. How did his strengths help him?

Use examples from the book to support your opinions.

(see the answer keys)

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