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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. How old is Tristram when he is injured by a falling window sash?

2. Who does Tristram consult for advice in Volume 7?

3. In Volume 8, which character makes a battle plan with Toby to approach the Widow Wadham?

4. Which commandment does Yorick ask Trim to repeat?

5. For what item is Tristram forced to pay in Lyon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What difficulty does Tristram encounter in Lyon?

2. Why does Tristram's mother eavesdrop on Walter and Toby's conversation in Volume 5?

3. What inconsistencies exist in Tristram's friendship with Eugenuis?

4. What irony exists in Walter Shandy's attempt to write a child-rearing book?

5. How does communication among the characters disintegrate in Volume 8?

6. Who is Lieutenant Le Fever?

7. What might Tristram mean when he describes romance as, "It is with love as with cuck-oldom"?

8. Why do Toby and Trim temporarily move in with Widow Wadham?

9. What are the "beds of justice"?

10. How does Toby become Billy Le Fever's guardian?

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

How does Sterne describe the roles of men and women in the novel? How does the 18th century perception of women and their roles in society affect their action and dialogue? How do the perceptions of his father and uncle affect Tristram's perception of women?

Essay Topic 3

How does the setting of the novel affect the mood of the story? Describe the differences between Sterne's masculine and feminine settings. Why does the masculine setting dominate the novel?

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