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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. In "Combray," where does the narrator often read?

2. What religion does Blotch practice?

3. Who helps to improve Mme. Swann's opinion of the narrator in "Mme. Swann at Home"?

4. What disappoints the narrator when he finally meets Bergotte?

5. In "Mme. Swann at Home," what do the Swanns brag about in front of the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens on New Year's Even in "Mme. Swann at Home"?

2. In "Overture," how does the narrator describe his sleep?

3. In "Overture," when M. Swann comes for dinner, what ploy for his mother's attention does the narrator devise?

4. What does the narrator do every day at Champs-Elysees in "Place-Names"?

5. How does the narrator's grandmother start a fight with her family in "Overture"?

6. Why does the narrator visit his Uncle Adolphe frequently in "Combray"?

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

8. How is M. Swann associated with the narrator's family?

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

10. In "Place-Names," what does the narrator do every day after Gilberte leaves?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Illness is a major part of the narrator's life and the lives of several other characters. How are these illnesses used to develop the plot and characters? What do the illnesses represent? Why does the author used illness in these situations?

Essay Topic 2

What is so significant about the implied death of M. Swann? Why has the author chosen to end the novel this way? What does this mean for the narrator and the plot in general?

Essay Topic 3

How are doctors viewed by the characters in this novel? What leads to the success of a doctor? How do the doctors in this novel affect their patients and patient's families? What images are often evoked when doctors are part of the scene? What message is the author delivering about the field of medicine in this novel?

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