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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. Where will the execution take place?

2. How do the city officials say to Pierre at the end of the supper?

3. What does Cincinnatus refuse to do after Pierre's speech about why he pretended to be a prisoner?

4. What does Marthe give to Cincinnatus when she comes to see him?

5. In the photohoroscope, when does the subject die?

Short Essay Questions

1. What inconsistency in Cecilia C.'s clothes does Cincinnatus point out?

2. What is on the list of acceptable last requests that Pierre reads?

3. What does Pierre do, when the party moves outside at the meeting between Cincinnatus, Pierre, and the city officials?

4. What does Pierre realize that he has forgotten in his speech?

5. What does Emmie's mother describe as Emmie's last prank before going back to school?

6. What does Cincinnatus's letter to Marthe say?

7. How does Rodion act toward Cincinnatus?

8. What did Cecilia C. ask Marthe for, and what was Marthe's response?

9. What does Pierre do after the party starts breaking up, before heading back to the prison?

10. How does Pierre act during his chess game with Cincinnatus?

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

Cincinnatus is unable to hide his difference because of his emotional reaction to Marthe's disloyalty, and during his imprisonment, one of his main concerns is seeing Marthe again. Discuss Marthe's role in the novel.

1) Why does Cincinnatus love Marthe? Why does he believe that he can make a human connection with her? Is Marthe in any way what Cincinnatus wants her to be?

2) Why does Marthe bring her whole family to her first meeting with Cincinnatus during his imprisonment? Why does she visit him a second time? What does her behavior at these visits say about Marthe's personality and character?

3) How does Marthe perceive Cincinnatus's crime and imprisonment?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the setting of the prison.

1) Why is the prison set high on a mountain? Why is Cincinnatus the only prisoner? Why is it so large and rambling, with confused passages? What does this contribute to the novel?

2) What does Cincinnatus's cell look like? What do the elements in Cincinnatus's cell represent or indicate? How is Cincinnatus's cell different from Pierre's cell?

3) Why do the cell and prison collapse when Cincinnatus is taken away to be executed?

(see the answer keys)

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