View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What conference in Dublin does Margaret contemplate attending?

2. Which of the following does Peter want to watch play Mozart’s Sonata 14?

3. What is the name of Sylvia’s mother?

4. What item of clothing does Ivan refuse to purchase second-hand?

5. Which of the following joins Peter at a birthday celebration?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Peter report as the most difficult Christian teaching for him?

2. Why does Ivan avoid getting a taxi when he visits Margaret at her home?

3. Why does Margaret increasingly appreciate the town in which she lives?

4. Why is Ivan insulted by Margaret’s opinion that she is taking advantage of him?

5. How does Ivan work to restore his late father’s house for his own use?

6. Why does Peter not return to his apartment after his upset with Sylvia?

7. What had been Margaret’s hope in leaving her husband?

8. How does Naomi support herself?

9. Why does Ivan hesitate to tell Margaret he loves her?

10. What does Ivan recall that Peter and Sylvia had done for him in Christmases past?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Similarly, the lengths of chapters influence reading. What pattern of chapter-length is present in the novel, if any? What effect does the length of chapters have on the reading? How is the effect achieved?

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, some characters are given but one name, while others are given first- and surnames, and still others are accorded names and titles. What significance, if any, accrues to patterns of naming in the novel? If no significance accrues, what purpose might be served by the patterns of naming in the novel? How does Intermezzo bear as much out?

Essay Topic 3

Section divisions, their titles, and chapter numbering / division schema are all components of paratext. That is, they are not part of the text but are associated with it closely and affect its meaning. What significance, if any, accrues to the chapter-numbering scheme at work in Intermezzo? If there is significance, how does that significance manifest? If there is not, what in the novel supports the paratextual divisions that are in place?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 590 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample