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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. Where did the man find a new family?

2. Which policeman does Spade regard as his friend?

3. How money does Spade accept as a retainer?

4. How does Brigid react to Spade's declaration that he met Cairo?

5. What is the undersized shadow?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sid Wise reveal about Iva in the twelfth chapter?

2. What is Spade's ulterior motive in helping out Brigid?

3. Why is Brigid so distressed in the fourth chapter?

4. In what way do Spade's qualities come out in this chapter?

5. How does Hammett use visual images in the novel?

6. What does Brigid tell Spade about her part in the falcon in the ninth chapter?

7. What has happened to Miss Wonderly's sister?

8. What do the police see when they enter Spade's apartment in the eighth chapter?

9. Describe the man's entrance into Spade's office at the end of the fifteenth chapter?

10. Why is the fifth chapter call ed the Levantine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel is set in San Francisco.

1) What meaning does San Francisco bring to the novel? What would you automatically presume about a novel that was set in San Francisco?

2) How different do you think today's San Francisco is to the San Francisco in the novel? How do you think the novel's meaning would change if it were set in today's San Francisco?

3) How do you think the interior settings of the novel contribute to the novel's dark atmosphere?

Essay Topic 2

Compare the characters of Sam Spade and Brigid.

1) In what way are their morals different?

2) What is their relationship to each other?

3) Do you think they are the perfect match?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss whether you think this statement is true or false: The Maltese Falcon depicts women in a negative light. Use two examples from the novel to support your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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