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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
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. What happens to the prison as Cincinnatus leaves it?
3. What does Emmie whisper in Cincinnatus's ear?
4. What initials are supposed to be spelled out in lights in the park?
5. Where do the city officials gather to meet with Pierre and Cincinnatus?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is on the list of acceptable last requests that Pierre reads?
2. How does Pierre act during his chess game with Cincinnatus?
3. How does Marthe get permission to come and see Cincinnatus?
4. What announcements does the deputy city director make before the execution?
5. What does the librarian do when Cincinnatus tries to express his true thoughts?
6. What inconsistency in Cecilia C.'s clothes does Cincinnatus point out?
7. Describe what happens to Cincinnatus's cell when the tunnel is completed.
8. What does Emmie's mother describe as Emmie's last prank before going back to school?
9. How does Cincinnatus react when Pierre, the director, and the lawyer announce that it is time for his execution?
10. What does Pierre do after the party starts breaking up, before heading back to the prison?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Many things in the novel are superficial or fake. Discuss the role of superficiality and falseness in the novel.
1) How is superficiality a part of the culture of the novel?
2) What items in Cincinnatus' surroundings such as in his prison and his cell are fake? What do these fake items signify? How does Cincinnatus perceive them?
3) How are the people surrounding Cincinnatus fake? Why does he perceive them as unreal? What would make a person real to Cincinnatus?
Essay Topic 2
Cincinnatus is oppressed for being different from other people. Discuss oppression in the novel.
1) Are other people besides Cincinnatus in the novel oppressed? Are their differences from each other and from the society's accepted culture suppressed?
2) How is Cincinnatus different from the other people in his culture? In what ways is Cincinnatus oppressed, beyond his imprisonment?
3) Are Cincinnatus and the other characters complicit in their own oppression? In what ways could the characters fight against or break free of oppression?
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?
This section contains 855 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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