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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 first name is eventually revealed to have belonged to Francescho's father?

2. Francescho comes to believe that the teenage girl she is observing unseen is experiencing which emotion?

3. Which of Francescho's acquaintances did she NOT include as a Grace within Borse's fresco?

4. What term did the "infidel" (84) stranger use to ask Francesco for a belt before she provided him with a length of rope?

5. Barto and Francescho travel to what city in order to "see the processions" (61)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does Francescho recount about "the infidel worker" (83) whose likeness she had eventually painted into Borse's fresco?

2. Describe the first meeting between Cosmo and Francescho.

3. What crime did Cosmo likely commit the night after his first encounter with Francescho?

4. What evidence does Francescho provide for her claim that there were other women in Renaissance-era Italy who posed as men in order to pursue careers in art?

5. For what reason did the protagonist of Eyes have need of a new name?

6. Characterize Francescho's relationship with the Falcon.

7. What quality does Francescho "sense" is "central to" the "nature" (84) of the young woman whom she observes throughout the narrative?

8. Describe Francescho's reaction to an aspect of technology in the modern world.

9. What insights does Francescho provide into the subversive elements of her artwork?

10. How does the theme of family bonds arise within Francescho's statement about his top three most influential artists?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Smith’s novel How to Be Both. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about the novel How to Be Both while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Smith’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of How to Be Both.

(see the answer keys)

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