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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 was the name of the grandmother in the household?

2. What did Catharina want Johannes to do for the family to get more money?

3. What did Pieter the Son give Griet to take to her family?

4. Who caught Griet inspecting the wooden box?

5. What food did Vermeer and Griet bond over initially?

Short Essay Questions

1. What role does the theme of life and death play in Girl with a Pearl Earring?

2. Why did Maria agree to keep Griet's involvement in Vermeer's paintings a secret?

3. How did the plague affect Griet?

4. What were some of the class differences between Griet and the Vermeers?

5. Who was Van Ruijven?

6. What aspect of Tanneke's personality was Griet moved by?

7. What family problems did Griet experience at her family's home?

8. How did Griet's arrival at the Vermeer home go?

9. What did Vermeer and Griet bond over?

10. What was Griet's first impression of the Vermeer family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does dissatisfaction play in the lives of the main characters in the novel? How and why is Griet dissatisfied? How does she show this?

Essay Topic 2

What is the most important thing to Vermeer? How does the reader know?

Essay Topic 3

What role does religion play in both dividing and bringing together characters? What role does religion play in creating a plot for Girl with a Pearl Earring?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 800 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample