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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 Philip say that the people at church may suspect of Italians?

2. What is Philip reminded of when Rainaldi insults his pipe smoking?

3. What does Rachel give Philip to tuck under his pillow as a joke on Seecombe?

4. What kind of lessons does Rachel want to teach?

5. Who is at the house when Philip returns from seeing the attorney about giving Rachel the estate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What excuse does Philip give for Rachel having overdrawn her account?

2. What does Rachel do that makes Philip tease her that she will become a midwife?

3. How does Philip say Ambrose dealt with things that hurt or shocked him?

4. Why is Philip so disconcerted by Rachel's tears when they argue about her allowance?

5. Why did Ambrose compare Rachel's spending to kleptomania?

6. Why does Rainaldi call Philip a "young Solomon?" (157)

7. Why does Philip put his muddy feet up on the footstool while Rachel tells him about her visits?

8. Why does Philip think he can keep his name out of the business of giving Rachel an allowance?

9. Why does Rachel say she asked Ambrose not to tell Philip about the baby she was pregnant with?

10. Why is Nick Kendall upset about Philip giving Rachel the pearl collar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Philip’s inexperience with women leads him into awkward and sometimes dangerous situations with the women in his life. Write an essay explaining how Philip’s inexperience with women and love puts him in a position to be used by women.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how Philip’s views of marriage change from the beginning of the book until the end. What causes him to change his mind about getting married? Are his expectations of marriage realistic? What is his opinion of marriage after his time with Rachel has concluded?

Essay Topic 3

Explain why the author begins the book with the story of Philip seeing the hanged man and why she refers back to it in the final chapter. What does the hanged man have to do with Philip’s experience with Rachel? What does the author hope to convey to the reader through the hanged man and Philip’s reaction to him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 719 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample