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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 does Susannah burn in Volume 6?

2. On what day does Trim fall in love?

3. Who is Tom?

4. Who is present when Tristram is injured in Volume 5?

5. What does Walter Shandy like to drink?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the farcical nature of the story of the abbess and the novice.

2. What are the "beds of justice"?

3. How does Toby discover his love for Widow Wadham?

4. How does the Shandy household react to the news of Bobby's death?

5. What dispute arises over Tristram's injury in Volume 6?

6. Why does Tristram decide to travel abroad in Volume 7?

7. What difficulty does Tristram encounter in Lyon?

8. What unusual friend does Tristram make in Lyon?

9. Why does Walter Shandy write Toby a letter in Volume 8?

10. Who is Lieutenant Le Fever?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How are love and marriage depicted in the novel? How do the male characters view love and marriage? How do the female characters view love and marriage? What lesson does Tristram learn about love?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the perception Sterne's characters have about responsibility. Which characters take responsibility for their actions and which are always denying or ignoring their responsibilities? What point might Sterne be making about responsibility and compassion?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Sterne's Yorick with Shakespeare's Yorick. How are both characters tragic? What role does Sterne's Yorick play in Tristram's life compared to the role Shakespeare's Yorick plays in Hamlet's life? Why might Sterne have chosen Yorick to deliver the last line of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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