View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Moran characterize himself in his thoughts about Molloy?

2. Who did Moran try to keep in the dark about his departure?

3. Moran says that he proceeds in making his report out of fear: why does he say he fears?

4. How does Moran characterize the job Gaber wanted him to do?

5. What order did Moran give his son in German?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Moran say is the value of finishing a job like this?

2. How does Moran characterize the process of dying?

3. What justification does Moran offer for why he accepted the job from Gaber?

4. How does Moran characterize the scene that led up to his departure with his son?

5. Who was the first person who came to Moran’s shelter?

6. How does Moran characterize the system by which messengers carried their messages to agents?

7. How does Moran resolve the question of whether Molloy is really Molloy’s name?

8. How does Moran characterize his trip to the garden before his departure?

9. Under what conditions do Moran and his son part for the first time?

10. What led to Moran’s son’s departure for good, the second time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate your own reading of Molloy—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

What is the difference between Molloy and Moran? How are they similar, how are they different? Are they complimentary or opposed, in the universe Beckett sets up in Molloy?

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of women in Molloy, or of parents? How do Molloy and Moran treat the people around them, and what do they expect of women? Are they ‘normal’ men who expect ‘normal’ things of women, or are they ambiguous or asexual? What role does physical or emotional love play in Molloy, whether it is between men or women?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 967 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample