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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 is NOT one of the jobs Edward volunteers to do for Violet's family during the summer of 1961?

2. According to Edward's father, Edward's early childhood "had been marked by" (112) what?

3. How long does Edward say it had taken to repair the damage done by his sexual advance toward Florence in the movie theater?

4. Edward feels that to not get undressed before the consummation of his and Florence's marriage would be what?

5. What object does Florence use to frantically wipe herself off after the calamity of the couple's first sexual experience?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of Florence's unfamiliarity with the names of birds and of plants?

2. What qualities of fistfights appeal to Edward?

3. When the narrator asks what is stopping the couple from joyously and freely moving to consummate their marriage, what is the narrator's provided reply?

4. For what reason does Florence tell Edward on their wedding night that she is scared about their first sexual experience?

5. How is the fact of Florence's childhood sexual abuse again underscored by the author during the scene of Florence and Edward's wedding night sexual mishap?

6. What is the significance of Geoffrey's behavior on the tennis courts during the tennis matches with Edward?

7. What does Edward say would likely have happened if he had beaten Geoffrey in a tennis match?

8. What promises do Edward and Florence make to each other surrounding Wigmore Hall?

9. What does the narrator mean when writing about Florence, "It helped her to settle on the basics, and she spelled them out for herself in stupid clarity" (105)?

10. How is irony present within the narrator's statement that "It crossed Edward's mind, barely seriously, that he was rather too keen to give his daughter away" (140)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the novella On Chesil Beach from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author's messages surrounding the topic of sexual freedom.

Essay Topic 3

What is the novella's message concerning the link between communication and the health of a relationship?

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