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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 does Mme. Swann do in "Place-Names" that causes people to talk?

2. Which day of the week is dinner served early at Combray?

3. Who thinks that the narrator should be allowed time to play outside as a boy?

4. How does the narrator's family react to Uncle Adolphe's friends?

5. Why doesn't the narrator's mother visit Mlle. Vinteuil in "Combray"?

Short Essay Questions

1. As a young boy how did the narrator spend his time before and after dinner?

2. What happens the first two times Swann visits Odette's house?

3. Why is the narrator not allowed to return to Champs-Elysees?

4. In "Combray," why does the narrator read a lot?

5. In "Place-Names," what does the narrator say has changed about his faith since his childhood?

6. What does the anonymous letter Swann receives at the end of "Swann In Love" say?

7. In "Mme. Swann at Home," how does the narrator feel about his relationship with Gilberte?

8. In "Combray," why does the narrator want to meet M. Swann's daughter?

9. What ends Swann's relationship with Uncle Adolphe?

10. What does Gilberte do in "Place-Names" that makes the narrator think she might like him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Guermantes' Way with Swann's Way. Consider the physical appearances of the paths, the reason they are used, and what they mean for the characters.

Essay Topic 2

How is Paris a character in this novel? How do the characters respond to the city of Paris? What does Paris represent and embody? How does going to Paris and leaving Paris help to develop the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Mme. Swann is a woman with a reputation. Explain how her reputation creates her value in the eyes of the other characters. What does she symbolize for her society and times?

(see the answer keys)

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