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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. Who does Spade spot in the hotel?

2. What is the young doing?

3. Who does Spade hope to see at the theater?

4. How much money does Brigid give Spade?

5. Whose offer does Brigid want Spade to forgo?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Spade choose loyalty over Brigid in the final chapter?

2. In what way is the novel's attitude towards women demeaning?

3. What is Spade's excuse for Cairo and Brigid's behavior at the beginning of the eighth chapter?

4. How are Spade suspicions about Cairo's sexual orientation confirmed by Brigid?

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

6. What does horse feathers mean in terms of the eighth chapter?

7. Describe the story Spade tells Brigid at the beginning of the seventh chapter?

8. How does Spade react to Iva's apology in the eleventh chapter?

9. In what way does Brigid show her desperation for Spade services in the sixth chapter?

10. Describe Cairo's appearance in the hotel lobby in the tenth chapter.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the novel's dialogue. How does Hammett's dialogue contribute to the following areas:

1) Character

2) Setting

3) Plot

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the novel.

1) How does Hammett use character and dialogue to drive the narrative.

2) Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

3) Away from the main character Spade Spade examine the way Hammett uses the other characters in the story. Does she use him or her for dramatic effect or comic aside? When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

(see the answer keys)

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