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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 Faye finally request of Albert?

2. Why does Mary not want Mandra to meet her husband?

3. Why is Albert finally able to make love to Faye?

4. Why does Reynolds refuse to sleep with the narrator/model in "A Model?"

5. In "A Model," while posing for the South American painter, the narrator is posed on a dummy of what animal?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does Fay's husband give for not making love to her on their wedding night in the story "Saffron"?

2. What pictures does Jan draw on the ceiling and why?

3. In "A Model," why does the narrator become a model?

4. How does the painter view Bijou?

5. How does Jan seduce Laura at the end of this story?

6. How does Fay discover Albert is being unfaithful?

7. How are Paul and Miriam full of "aristocratic impudence?"

8. How does Hilda change throughout the course of this story?

9. How does Rango treat Hilda after their first, failed sexual encounter?

10. Describe Rango.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what ways is innocence and curiosity seen as a sexually attractive trait in some of these stories? Compose an essay on this topic and develop a clear thesis statement. Discuss the characters who have these traits, as well as the characters who become attracted to them, and the outcomes of their relationships. Certain stories that should definitely be focused on (but not exclusively) include "Little Birds" and "Runaway." Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the characters' sexual awakenings in the following format:

Part 1) The repression of several characters.

Part 2) These characters' interactions with others. How does this affect their relationships?

Part 3) Their pride and resistance to breaking through their repression.

Part 4) The hypocritically repressed.

Part 5) The characters after they have experienced their sexual awakenings.

Develop a clear thesis statement and cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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