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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. Why does John Gentian take "liberties with etiquette"?
2. How does Melville describe Captain Delano's personality?
3. What is the attitude of the bachelors in the Temple toward pain and trouble?
4. Why is the strange ship low on provisions?
5. Why does the narrator of "The Piazza" believe the soil is richer around the cottage that he finds?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why does the narrator of "I and My Chimney" believe his chimney is good for invalids?
2. What does the chimney in "I and My Chimney" provide for the narrator on the second landing?
3. What is Captain Delano's intention in boarding Benito Cereno's ship?
4. What foibles does the narrator claim Jack Gentian possesses?
5. According to the deposition in "Benito Cereno," what would have happened to Captain Delano if he had suspected a mutiny aboard the San Dominick?
6. Why doesn't the narrator in "The Piazza" grant Marianna's wish and tell her that he is the resident of the house that she believes contains happiness?
7. What does Jimmy Rose retain after he has lost his fortune?
8. Why is the narrator despondent at the beginning of "The Fiddler"?
9. In "The Lightning Rod Man," why does the narrator pretend to mistake the salesman for the god Jupiter Tonans?
10. How have the Knights Templar changed, according to Melville's observations, in "The Paradise of Bachelors"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Melville often uses a distinctive double negative in description. For example, Captain Delano is described as "undistrustful." Later, he is said to be "not unbewildered," and "not uninfluenced." What is to be gained by using these terms instead of "trusting," "bewildered," and "influenced"? Is there a difference between being undistrustful and trusting? If so, what is it? Find other examples of this peculiarity and analyze its use.
Essay Topic 2
Melville frequently reveals the character of a narrator through the narrator's observations and reactions to another character. "Bartleby the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno" are examples of this technique. Select one of the stories in which the narrator reveals himself. Discuss how the character is revealed and the effectiveness of this technique for you as a reader.
Essay Topic 3
Melville has a gift for inventing language: "The picturesque yields to the pocketesque." The government of the island was a "riotocracy." Find and analyze examples of invented language. Are the new words useful? Comprehensible? Effective? Discuss their effect on you as a reader.
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This section contains 865 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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