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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 alternative to a brain tumor does Nick Kendall suggest to explain Ambrose's incoherent letter?

2. Why does Philip have to wait until he is 25 to take full control of the estate?

3. What reason does Rainaldi give Philip for his not having been told about Ambrose's illness?

4. Who tells the servants and tenants about Ambrose's death?

5. Why does Philip not help the men harvest the fields after Ambrose's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Nick Kendall think it was wrong for Ambrose to have brought Philip up without women in his life?

2. Why did Ambrose start travelling during the winter months?

3. What does Philip find striking about the portrait he sees hanging in Aunt Phoebe's rooms before Rachel comes?

4. What does Rainaldi tell Philip the doctors said was the cause of Ambrose's strange behavior before his death?

5. Why do the servants address Philip differently when he returns home from Italy?

6. What reason does Rachel give in her letter for having taken all of Ambrose's possessions from the villa after he died?

7. What does the servant at the villa tell Philip was Ambrose's and Rachel's normal routine in the summer?

8. Why does Rachel wear only one color of gown?

9. Why was Louise excited about the idea of Ambrose returning to the estate with a wife?

10. How did Ambrose say that Rachel is related to the Ashley family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay discussing how the author explores the nature of good and evil using Rachel and Philip. How does the author make readers doubt Rachel’s intentions? In the end, which characters were good and which were evil?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay examining Rainaldi as a character. How does the author use him to reveal information about Rachel and Philip? How do his visits to England affect the plot? What is the true relationship between Rachel and Rainaldi?

Essay Topic 3

The author explores how women are perceived by others. She uses both Rachel and Louise to explore this idea. Explain how the author uses Rachel and Louise to examine the perception of women and how the way others perceive them affects the plot of the novel.

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This section contains 748 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample