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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. In what city was Joyce born?

2. Where did Joyce go to college?

3. Where did Joyce go when there was no position for him in Italy?

4. What was the name of the newspaper Joyce wanted to start?

5. Joyce's father took special pride in the family's ______________________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What was always an important source of inspiration for Joyce's writing?

2. What did Ellmann think were some of the inspirations for Joyce's novel ULYSSES?

3. Describe Joyce's personal and professional challenges when he returned to Paris in 1903.

4. Who was the publisher who wanted to publish DUBLINERS and what change did he require that offended Joyce?

5. Describe Joyce's father, John's, young life in Ireland.

6. What type of writing did Joyce find interesting at this time and which author even sent Joyce a letter?

7. What two major forces occurred for Joyce during this disgruntled period in his life?

8. What was Joyce's relationship like with his father and how many siblings did Joyce have?

9. When was Joyce born and who had a strong influence on him as a boy?

10. How was Joyce perceived in the literary community in Dublin in 1902?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a brief character study of Stanislaus Joyce. What did he look like? What were his positive personality traits? What were some of his negative characteristics? What were his hopes and fears? What were his primary motivations during his life?

Essay Topic 2

Substance abuse seemed to be an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive was the abuse? Why did it have such a prevalent place in Joyce's life? How did it affect him? How did it affect those impacted by Joyce's abuse? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 3

Joyce was befriended by some of the most famous literary talents in the world such as Ezra Pound and W.B. Yeats. Select one of Joyce's literary friends and compare and contrast his/her life and work to Joyce's.

(see the answer keys)

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