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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How long is one sentence of Proust's in "In Search of Lost Time"?
(a) 3 meters.
(b) 4 meters.
(c) 5 meters.
(d) 4 and a half meters.

2. Who is Kate?
(a) Proust's mother.
(b) De Botton's girlfriend.
(c) Proust's girlfriend.
(d) De Botton's sister.

3. How does De Botton believe Proust felt about his father?
(a) He was motivating.
(b) He was intimidated.
(c) He was inspiring.
(d) He was smart.

4. Who is Marquis de Lau?
(a) A well known figure in Paris.
(b) A friend of Proust's.
(c) A well known figure in Rome.
(d) A well known figure in Spain.

5. What city's newspaper does De Botton analyze at the beginning of "How Proust Can Change Your Life ; Not a Novel"?
(a) Paris.
(b) Rome.
(c) Milan.
(d) London.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does De Botton wonder can be separated from his or her work in Chapter 4?

2. What year did Proust write his novel that gave him international acclaim?

3. What was the title of Proust's novel that gave him international acclaim?

4. Why would Proust sometimes examine a mundane train timetable?

5. In what year did Proust's father die?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Proust's problem and difficulty with friendship?

2. What does De Botton reason the finger placing ability evokes in its readers?

3. How did Proust behave around his friends?

4. Describe Proust's childhood experience at the brothel.

5. Describe how Proust felt when people used trite and cliched expressions.

6. What does Proust say about friendship in the quotes De Botton gives in Chapter 6?

7. Describe how Proust's friends think of him according to the quotes in Chapter 6.

8. Describe the quote De Botton begins Chapter 1 with.

9. What question does De Botton wonder about the artist and his work?

10. Describe how Proust thought art should be critiqued.

(see the answer keys)

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