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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 does the director give to Pierre?

2. What does Cincinnatus tell the lawyer is not real?

3. When does Pierre say that prison escapes happen?

4. What is Rodrig Ivanovich holding after Cincinnatus reads the letter?

5. How does the judge deliver Cincinnatus' sentence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Besides how long Cincinnatus has until his execution, what else does Cincinnatus want to know from his captors? What is their response?

2. What faults and virtues does Pierre say that the director has?

3. At Cincinnatus's first meeting with M'sieur Pierre, what happens the first few times M'sieur Pierre asks Cincinnatus a question?

4. Why does Pierre turn into a circus performer?

5. What happens after Cincinnatus goes to bed, the night after the prisoner arrives?

6. How does Cincinnatus describe his difference from other people?

7. What types of dreams do the prison rules disallow?

8. What does Emmie do with the water jug in Cincinnatus' cell?

9. What ring does Cincinnatus describe wearing in his memory from his childhood?

10. How does Cincinnatus' father-in-law say goodbye to him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Constructed reality is an important element in the novel, where "reality" is very flexible and tenuous. Discuss constructed reality in the novel.

1) How does society in the novel create its own reality? How is the culture that Cincinnatus lives in inherently unreal, and merely an agreed upon way of living created by the people of the society?

2) How does Cincinnatus create his own reality? How much control does Cincinnatus have over reality?

3) How "real" is constructed reality? How much power does it have over Cincinnatus and other characters? Is there a "truer" reality below the surface as Cincinnatus seems to feel?

Essay Topic 2

Emmie's character becomes a source of hope for Cincinnatus. Discuss Emmie's role in the novel.

1) What qualities does Emmie's character have? What does Cincinnatus assume about Emmie's character? How do his assumptions differ from the reality?

2) How does Emmie represent childhood? What is Cincinnatus's perception of childhood, and how does it affect his view of Emmie?

3) How does Emmie's betrayal of Cincinnatus affect him? How do others view that betrayal?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss symbolism and metaphor in the novel.

1) What things are described as being off-center in the novel? What does this represent in the novel?

2) What does the spider represent in the novel? What does the moth that is almost fed to the spider represent?

3) What do nonnons represent? Why does Cecelia C. tell the story of nonnons?

4) Why does Cincinnatus take himself apart several times during the novel? What does this represent? What do some of the other absurd or surreal events in the novel represent?

5) What does the prison itself represent? Do the characters have symbolic or metaphoric meaning?

(see the answer keys)

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