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 happens to the scratching noises when Cincinnatus makes noise?

2. What does Cincinnatus say when he learns his mother has come to see him?

3. What does Cincinnatus attribute the scratching on the walls to?

4. What does Pierre tell Cincinnatus to do in the moments before the execution?

5. What does Cincinnatus complain about that causes Pierre to call him rude?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens at the moment of Cincinnatus's execution?

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

3. How does Cincinnatus respond to Pierre's speech?

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

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

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

7. What announcements does the deputy city director make before the execution?

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

9. Describe the plot of Quercus.

10. Describe what happens to Cincinnatus's cell when the tunnel is completed.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Discuss communication in the novel.

1) Why does Cincinnatus believe he has communicated with whoever he hears digging a tunnel beyond his wall? How does he feel about having communicated? What does he hope to gain through this communication?

2) How does Cincinnatus use his writing to try to communicate? What is he trying to communicate, and to whom?

3) In what other ways does Cincinnatus try to communicate with those around him? What are the obstacles to communication?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the importance of the librarian in the novel.

1) What does the librarian's job say about him?

2) How does the librarian react to the other characters and the culture that surrounds him? How does he react to Pierre and the prison director?

3) Why does Cincinnatus try to communicate and make a connection with the librarian near the end of the novel? What does the librarian's reaction say about him? What is the librarian's reaction at the beheading, and what does this indicate?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 904 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample