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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 is draped over Meg in Merivel's pictures?

2. What instrument does Merivel play to get the bird to sing?

3. To ahat does Merivel compare his stomach freckles?

4. Who is with Merivel when Celia arrives?

5. Which Cambridge college did Merivel attend?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Merivel fantasize about while he's having sex with Violet?

2. What does Celia look like?

3. What does Merivel do after he leaves Celia on their wedding night?

4. Why does Degeulasse de Gourly come to visit Merivel?

5. How does Celia act during her meetings with Merivel before the wedding?

6. Why doesn't Merivel try to treat his dog himself?

7. What does Merivel find when he returns home?

8. What is Merivel's response to the King summoning him with a letter?

9. Why can't Merivel do what Finn asks of him?

10. What does Merivel think about when he visits Kaw?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss fate in the novel.

1) Is Merivel in control of his own destiny? How is Merivel governed by fate in the novel?

2) What determines the fates of the rich and the poor in the novel? Why do characters seem to lack control over their own destinies?

3) Discuss Merivel's rescue of the woman from the burning building. Is Merivel a hero for having saved the woman? How is this incident governed by fate? How does Merivel benefit from it?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the characters' control over their own lives in the novel.

1) How does a character's birth and family affect his or her life in the novel? Can a character change the course of his or her life?

2) How does chance and fate affect the characters' lives in the novel?

3) How do characters control their own lives and futures in the novel, and to what extent?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss loyalty in the novel.

1) Who is Merivel loyal to in the novel? Does Merivel remain loyal to the King? Why does Merivel lie to Celia about the King's message?

2) Are the characters loyal to themselves? In what ways? What happens when a character is disloyal, to himself or to another?

3) What is the relationship between loyalty and love? Can loyalty in the novel exist without love?

(see the answer keys)

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