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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Pyle see himself?
(a) He describes himself as an observer with no real views on the war.
(b) He sees himself as being trapped where he doesn't want to be.
(c) He sees himself as a serious backer of the French.
(d) He sees himself as a possible source of winning information.

2. Where and with whom is Thomas Fowler as The Quiet American begins?
(a) He is walking along the beach on the China Sea.
(b) He is flying into Saigon from a trip he made to England.
(c) The story opens with Fowler in his rooms over the rue Catinat in Saigon with his beautiful young lover Phuong.
(d) He is at the Continental having a cappuccino with his editor.

3. How do the Vietminh infiltrate the city?
(a) The Vietminh join their procession for Fatima and take them by surprise.
(b) The Vietminh enter the city dressed as nuns.
(c) The Vietminh come in as rice traders.
(d) The Vietminh arrive as traders looking for business.

4. Where do Granger, Joe and Pyle decide to go?
(a) They decide to go to the Majestic theater.
(b) They decide to go next door to the House of Five Hundred Girls.
(c) They decide to go to Fowler's apartment.
(d) They decide to go to the American embassy.

5. Having nothing else to do, where does Fowler go once he is back in Saigon?
(a) With nothing else to do, he starts trying to find out more about Pyle.
(b) With nothing else to do, Fowler goes to the House of the Five Hundred Girls.
(c) With nothing else to do, Fowler goes to interview a French lieutenant.
(d) Fowler,with nothing else to do, attends a press conference led by a handsome young French colonel.

6. Returning to the night Fowler met Pyle, where was he?
(a) He and Phuong were dining at the Continental.
(b) He was strolling along the rue Catinat.
(c) He was fishing in the river.
(d) He was meeting Vigot at the surete.

7. Why does Vigot tell Fowler he is a suspect in the murder?
(a) Fowler is a suspect because he owed Pyle a lot of money.
(b) Fowler is a suspect because Pyle had threatened to kill him.
(c) Fowler is a suspect because he is part of a lover's triangle.
(d) Fowler is a suspect because he knew Pyle was a double agent.

8. What is the conflicting report about the war in the North?
(a) Some say the Americans are pulling out and others say the Germans are coming.
(b) The attache says the Vietminh are retreating but Granger says they are coming to Saigon.
(c) Granger says General The is fighting with the French and the attache says General The is dead.
(d) Granger says the French are doing well in the northwest, but the Attaché reports that the Vietminh are about to take Phat Diem.

9. What is Alden Pyle's publicly known job?
(a) He works for Harvard University.
(b) He works for the Economic Aid Mission.
(c) He is a battery manufacturer.
(d) He is a reporter for the New York Times.

10. Who is the author of the books Pyle likes so much?
(a) Graham Greene
(b) York Harding
(c) Noel Coward
(d) Len Deighton

11. What offer does Pyle make to Miss Hei?
(a) He offers to pay her every time Phuong comes to his apartment.
(b) He offers to light her cigarette.
(c) He offers to show her to the door.
(d) He offers to help Miss Hei get a job with his Mission.

12. What is Phuong's favorite reading subject matter?
(a) The stock market in the Wall Street Journal
(b) The latest scandals in Hollywood
(c) The British Royal Family, especially Princess Margaret
(d) The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

13. What does Fowler find so annoying about the letter from Pyle?
(a) The letter is annoyingly long.
(b) The letter is annoyingly illiterate.
(c) The letter is annoyingly rude.
(d) The letter is annoyingly boyish.

14. What feeling does Vigot reveal about Pyle's murder?
(a) He says he has no feeling because he never met Pyle.
(b) He is sad that they got Pyle instead of some outrageous American.
(c) Vigot says he is not sorry that Pyle is dead because he was causing a lot of harm.
(d) He cannot believe someone would kill such a gentle person.

15. Instead of Pyle, who comes to Fowler's door after midnight?
(a) It is Phuong's elder sister who is trying to get Phuong married to an American.
(b) It is a messenger from the US embassy.
(c) It is a messenger from Vigot, a French officer who is a casual social acquaintance of Fowler.
(d) It is the landlord wanting to know why the lights are still on.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Fowler say to the priest about the sacrament of confession?

2. What does Pyle say about his importing plastics?

3. Why is Miss Hei interested in Pyle?

4. In contrast to the American press corps men, how does Fowler assess Pyle?

5. Why is Phuong unhappy with Pyle and not want to see him?

(see the answer keys)

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