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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 sort of nightgown does Lina bring to the narrator's home?

2. With what Russian author does the woman describe the Russian prisoner's answers?

3. When promising to show the exotic birds to the schoolgirls, what does Manuel say is different about the bird from Brazil?

4. Why does the tall woman's husband refuse to make love to her?

5. In what region does "The Woman on the Dunes" take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Novalis and Maria begin to grow apart?

2. For what reasons does Edna begin to find her self-confidence again after becoming estranged from Harry?

3. Why does the woman pass out in her story as the Russian dies?

4. In what ways does Lina try to seduce the narrator?

5. Why does Dorothy become frigid to Robert and how does she attempt to handle it?

6. Why did the Viking woman get married?

7. What is a sirocco and how does it affect the narrator?

8. What are the only ways Manuel can become aroused?

9. What are Lina's views on lesbianism?

10. Describe the scene with the four girls in Manuel's apartment on their second visit.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does the author's language play in the eroticism and sensuality of this book? How does the phrasing and format both increase the sensuality while keeping the reader at a distance from the proceedings? How is this seen, in particular, in "the Woman on the Dunes?" In what ways are the characters' extreme intensity and seriousness increased by the language and writing? Develop a clear thesis statement on this topic and pattern an essay around these questions (though not exclusively). Cite specific examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role sexual frustration plays in these characters' lives, as well as the causes of this and their eventual remedy for it in the following format:

Part 1) Louis from "the Woman on the Dunes" and Robert and Donald from "Two Sisters."

Part 2) Rango's frustration with Hilda.

Part 3) The husband from "Sirocco" and Albert from "Saffron" and how their actions hurt their wives (be sure to also discuss how their wives eventually deal with these situations and how it affects the marriages).

Part 4) Lina. Discuss not only the possibility of her inability to identify as a woman, but her enjoyment of having sex with both Michel and the narrator.

Part 5) The narrator in "a Model." Focus especially on her attempt to give her virginity to her boyfriend as well as her relationships with the artists.

Essay Topic 3

In terms of racist language and reference, what marks these stories as having been written in a much earlier than this one? How is this particularly seen in "Saffron" and "Sirocco?" How can these stories be seen as a commentary about these men's needs to control women? In what ways is this sort of bigotry on display in "the Queen?" What is significant about the fact that these references are all seen in relation to selfish, bitter, and controlling men?

(see the answer keys)

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