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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 weather like the day that Cincinnatus receives the letter?

2. What is dirtying the lawyer's back?

3. What was unusual about Cincinnatus' sentence?

4. What does Pierre tell Cincinnatus that they will do together?

5. What reason does Rodrig give Cincinnatus to discourage him from complaining?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Marthe's father treat Cincinnatus?

2. What does Cincinnatus describe happening to the world in his dreams?

3. What does Cincinnatus realize as he heads back to his cell with Rodion?

4. Describe Cincinnatus's early days with his wife.

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

6. What does Cincinnatus do, when the director briefly leaves the meeting between Cincinnatus and Pierre?

7. What is the new prisoner doing when Cincinnatus walks past his cell after meeting Emmie in the hallway?

8. After the director reads his formal speech to Cincinnatus, where does Cincinnatus go?

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

10. Describe the inside of the prison.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodrig and Rodion are the two main representatives of the prison staff in the novel, and throughout the novel, they transform into each other. Discuss the significance of Rodion and Rodrig in the novel.

1) Why are Rodrig and Rodion associated with each other? What do they have in common?

2) What are Rodrig and Rodion's differences? How superficial are these differences?

3) How do Rodrig and Rodion view Cincinnatus? What does Cincinnatus think of the two prison employees? What do they represent in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

The ending of the novel is ambiguous, open to more than one interpretation. Discuss the ending of the novel.

1) If the ending of the novel is objectively real, what is happening? Why is Cincinnatus able to walk away? What does this imply about Cincinnatus's character, the culture he is immersed in, and the prison that he has been in? What does it imply about the other characters?

2) If the ending of the novel is merely Cincinnatus's subjective perception, what is happening? Why is Cincinnatus suddenly freed? What does this imply about Cincinnatus's character, the nature of reality, the culture he is immersed in, and the prison he has been in? What does it imply about his crime?

3) What is your personal interpretation of the ending of the novel?

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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