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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 treatment does the grandmother use shortly before her death?

2. In "Guermantes Way, Part I," at the Villeparisis' party, what impresses the narrator most about Mme. de Villeparisis?

3. In "Place-Names: The Place, Part I," what does the doctor recommend for the narrator's nerves?

4. In "Place-Names: The Place: Part II," what does M. de Charlus accuse the narrator of?

5. In "Seascape, with Frieze of Girls," why does Albertine take the narrator away from Gisele?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Mme. Swann arrives at Mme. de Villeparisis's party?

2. What does the narrator do the first time he meets Gisele?

3. In "Place-Names: The Place, Part II," what happens when Saint-Loup and the narrator dine with the Bloch family?

4. What happens the first time the narrator sees the group of six girls in "Seascap, with Frieze of Girls"?

5. What happens when Bloch accompanies the narrator to see Saint-Loup to his train in "Seascape, with Frieze of Girls"?

6. While in Balbec, what upsets the narrator about running into the Marquise de Villeparisis?

7. When visiting Elstir's studio in Balbec, why does the narrator want to go to the beach?

8. Which of Elstir's paintings catches the attention of the narrator in "Seascape, with Frieze of Girls"?

9. What happens the first time the narrator meets Albertine?

10. What happens in "Guermantes Way, Part I" when the narrator's grandmother becomes ill?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the narrator's relationship with Gilberte mirror the relationship between M. Swann and Odette? Where do they differ? What is the literary value in paralleling these relationships? What is the lesson the author creates?

Essay Topic 2

What role does the military play in this novel? How do the characters feel toward the military? How is it significant that Saint-Loup is in the military? What does the military and military action represent in this novel.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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