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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 secretly handed Griet the pearl earrings?

2. What item did Cornelia suggest that Catharina wear?

3. How did Vermeer feel about Griet posing for a picture for van Ruijven?

4. Who began to distrust Griet with the jewelry box?

5. What does Griet vow to do with the final coins from selling the earrings?

Short Essay Questions

1. What advice did Leeuwenhoek give to Griet?

2. When Griet visits the Vermeers ten years later, in what condition is the family?

3. What was most important to Vermeer?

4. What metaphorical ownership did Vermeer take over Griet?

5. How do the pearls show that Vermeer did not care about Griet?

6. How did Pieter become impatient with Griet?

7. Why did Griet have sex with Pieter in the alley?

8. Why did Catharina seem to fear Griet?

9. How did Griet feel after Vermeer saw her hair?

10. What does Griet's hair symbolize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Griet decide to stand up for Vermeer's paintings against her family? Is she right to do so?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the historical context of Girl with a Pearl Earring. How does the historical context cause Griet to differ as a character from a modern novel?

Essay Topic 3

What happens when Griet's hair is exposed to Vermeer? How does this one event change her so much? Why does she become so affected by it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 826 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample