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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 annoys and astonishes Mrs Van Hopper?

2. What is meant by "Jasper has gone to the happy hunting grounds"?

3. How does Mrs Van Hopper misjudge the conversation with Maxim de Winter?

4. About what is the narrator especially knowledgeable?

5. Who first suggests the revival of the Manderley Fancy Dress ball?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways does Rebecca conform to the genre of romance fiction?

2. What do the words "We have no secrets now" imply?

3. What suggests that, when the story opens, the protagonist is in a climate different from that of the British Isles?

4. What attracts Maxim to the protagonist of the novel Rebecca?

5. What criticisms of the British landed gentry are implied in this chapter of Rebecca?

6. Comment on the protagonist's feelings in Chapter 17 of Rebecca.

7. What factor does the narrator feel has been pivotal to the way her life has turned out?

8. What is the overall tone of the opening chapter?

9. Why is Maxim against his wife going off after the dog Jasper?

10. What is special about Happy Valley?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Manderley is the major character in the novel Rebecca." How far do you agree with this statement? What is the meaning of its destruction? Why doesn't Maxim simply rebuild it?

Essay Topic 2

Choose TWO significant characters from the novel Rebecca. In a considered essay, discuss the way these characters and their roles in the story illustrate and/or connect with the novel's themes.

Essay Topic 3

In a thoughtful essay, account for the continuing popularity of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Write about 500 words.

(see the answer keys)

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