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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 title of the person making the phone call?

2. What are the surnames of Daniels' two aunts?

3. What is the surname of the couple that Poirot meets at the Grand Metropolitan?

4. During what major event did Poirot get involved in a mission to save the Prime Minister?

5. What mistake did the thieves make at the scene of the crime?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who approaches Poirot and Hastings while they are talking about peace negotiations? Who is the main character in the discussion?

2. The two men ask Poirot to help find the Prime Minister who has been kidnapped. Where was the Prime Minister going when the kidnapping occurred? What was the original travel plan?

3. Captain Hastings and Poirot decide to take a short trip to get a change of scenery. Where do they go and what is the first thing they do upon arrival?

4. What actions did Davenheim/Kellet take to keep the police and others from searching for him after the robbery?

5. Who is the first couple Poirot and Hastings meet? The woman is the proud owner of what kind of items?

6. Who was supposedly visiting the count? What was overheard by Foscatini's valet?

7. Where did the maid go when she left the room with the chambermaid inside?

8. Poirot verifies the deaths with Dr. Ames, physician at the tomb's excavation. What were the causes of death?

9. What is Poirot's theory on how the crime occurred? Who was responsible?

10. How do Poirot and Hastings learn about the official cause of the most recent victim? Who gave the men the news?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Captain Hastings is a staple in the stories contained in POIROT INVESTIGATES. What is the history of Captain Hastings? How does he know Poirot? In what capacity can Hastings call himself a captain? What is Hastings' profession? What benefit is there to having Hastings in the story from Christie's point of view? What benefit is there to having Hastings in the story from Poirot's point of view? Name and describe at least three instances where Hastings' presence was invaluable to Poirot. How might Poirot have solved the cases without the help of Hastings? Who else served in the same capacity as the captain?

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 several instances throughout the book, criminals have taken great pains to attempt to distract Poirot. Why would the criminals attempt to throw Poirot off the trail? Does it work? Write a 100 word essay or short story from the point of view of a criminal that is trying to distract and mislead Poirot. Develop an entire crime and the attempts to mislead. Also include the outcome and how Poirot always prevails.

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This section contains 891 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample