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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 the name of the murdered person?

2. What is the name of the female character's husband?

3. What is the name of the person who visits Poirot to ask for help?

4. The character whose items were stolen was traveling when the theft occurred. What was the destination?

5. Which character turns up missing shortly after speaking with the inspector?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the character that approaches Poirot and Hastings in the beginning of the story? How is the woman described?

2. Captain Hastings meets up with Poirot to find out that the detective is going on a case. What is the case?

3. Who is the woman seen on the street by Poirot and his companion? Why is she known to Poirot?

4. Who finds out about the cheap flat? Who supplies the information? Who is it rented to? Where is it located?

5. How were the bonds secured to prevent theft? What special precaution was taken?

6. What was the point of the empty package? Who perpetrated the hoax?

7. What strikes Poirot as peculiar regarding the new tenants?

8. What is the condition of Poirot when he receives a visitor? Who is the visitor?

9. What is the purpose of the visit to Poirot?

10. What has the woman so upset about one of her possessions? What are the consequences if Marvell does not comply?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" Poirot must solve the case of the stolen Liberty Bonds. The bonds were issued by the London and Scottish Bank under the watchful eyes of Mr. Vavasour and Mr. Shaw. The bonds were to be taken to New York as part of a bank transaction. Discuss the case, the purpose of the theft and potential uses of the bonds. Answer the following questions: What are bearer bonds? Why might they be an important item to steal? Why would the London and Scottish Bank entrust the bonds to Ridgeway for transport? Why were the bonds transported in that manner instead of a courier service? How were the bonds stored while in transit? Explain at least two ways in which the bonds might have been stolen from Ridgeway and who might be involved in the theft.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Agatha Christie's mysteries there are almost always staff members or servants of some kind. This is especially important in "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan." Examine how servants played an important role in the lives of the characters as well as in the stories. Why does Christie use this method of introducing characters? Is the use of servants a part of every day life for this type of main characters or are they used to distract the reader? In murder mysteries servants are often used as scapegoats. Is this an accurate portrayal? What is required of the servants upon being employed? Is the employer's level of trust given automatically or does it have to be earned?

Essay Topic 3

In "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb," five characters die due to unusual circumstances. Investigate how each person died, the cause behind the death, and the purpose. How would one be able to tell how the person died? Compare and contrast methods used during Poirot's time to modern science in which toxicology and other forensic methods are used to determine cause of death and types of poisons used.

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This section contains 844 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample