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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 first action Valmont takes to make Madame de Tourvel look favorably upon him?
2. What event does Madame de Volanges' sudden illness threaten?
3. How does Danceny give his first note to Cécile?
4. What literary tradition does Coward see as applicable?
5. How does Valmont force Madame de Tourvel's maid to help with his plans?
Short Essay Questions
1. What concession does Madame de Tourvel give Valmont, and what are the results?
2. How does Madame de Tourvel respond to Valmont's first love letter?
3. How does Valmont describe Madame de Tourvel?
4. Describe Cécile's relationship with Merteuil.
5. What is the content of Danceny's letters to Cécile?
6. What was Choderlos de Laclos' position in society? Describe his family life.
7. What defines or designates the "libertine" literary tradition?
8. What were Laclos' general views on politics and gender relations?
9. What causes Cécile to become worried and sad about her upcoming marriage?
10. What does Merteuil assert is the reason women become "victims" of seduction?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Examine the theme of male solidarity in the novel. Consider the following situations: the three men involved with Prévan's legendary seduction bond together to ruin all three women who are also Prévan's targets; Valmont convinces Madame de Tourvel's confessor, Father Anselme, to allow Valmont access to Madame de Tourvel; Valmont and Danceny, after dueling, bond together to ruin Merteuil. Are there similar instances of female solidarity in the novel? How does this influence your interpretation of gender roles in the novel? How are "communities," or even friendships, gendered in the text?
Essay Topic 2
Examine the uses of irony throughout the novel. Your discussion may include: instances of satire, for instance of contemporary literary works or public figures; anything from the sarcastic tone often taken by Merteuil and Valmont in their letters to each other; the many instances of figurative language in the text such as puns and double entendres; the instances of certain characters' hypocrisy or denial; or the dramatic irony through which the reader or character knows something that another character does not. How does Laclos achieve irony? What language, tone, and style of writing indicate irony in the text? How do certain situations where characters find themselves tend toward the ironic?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the types of mediation present in the novel. This could include: characters who mediate other characters' thoughts, actions, and feelings; the "editor" of the novel mediating the reader's interaction with the story by his arrangement of letters and placement and wording of notes; and plot itself being mediated through the letters. In some instances, the plot twists back upon itself, repeats itself, or offered through different perspectives. What is the effect and significance of such mediation on the themes, symbolism, character development, and the response of the reader?
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This section contains 1,034 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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