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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 is the theme of the article the narrator is writing at the beginning of Part Four?

2. What does the narrator do as he walks out backwards?

3. What part of the narrator's body is injured when he is hit by the cart?

4. Where had Queeny met Ylayali for the first time?

5. What does the narrator see out of his window?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator still try to force himself upon Ylayali?

2. Why is the narrator moved into the family room?

3. Why is the captain of the Copégoro reluctant to hire the narrator, and what is his compromise?

4. What happens to make the narrator lose faith in his play?

5. How does the narrator react to seeing Ylayali with 'The Duke'?

6. Why do you think Ylayali is disappointed in the narrator?

7. Why does the narrator not speak to the woman in black when he first sees her outside his apartment?

8. What ails the narrator at the start of Part 3?

9. Why does the narrator put himself in view of The Chief?

10. How does Queeny offend the narrator?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Fantasy plays a large role in this novel. Discuss the narrator and Ylayali's fantasies of one another. How do they differ from reality? How do you think they affect the character's actions?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the parallels between the narrator's surroundings and his mental state. How do the narrator's surroundings affect his writing? How are his thoughts influenced by being in certain locations, such as by a church or at the pier?

(see the answer keys)

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