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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 Finn bring Merivel as a first payment for using his influence?

2. Who does Merivel miss, alone in his mansion?

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

4. What gift does the King give Merivel?

5. What does Merivel end up doing at the pub?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Merivel feel about life at the palace?

2. What does the King order Merivel to do for him at the end of the first chapter?

3. What does the King tell Merivel in his dream?

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

5. What is Merivel's reaction to the letter about Rosie?

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

7. Describe what Pearce tells Merivel about the present Finn brings.

8. What is wrong with Lady Bathurst's husband?

9. Who has Celia invited to the house, and why?

10. Why has Celia come to the mansion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Merivel is the central character of the novel, and much of the novel revolves around Merivel and his personal perceptions and growth. Discuss Merivel as a character.

1) What are Merivel's primary personality traits at the beginning of the novel? How did those traits develop?

2) How does Merivel change over the course of the novel? How does living at the mental hospital and among the poor in Cheapside affect him?

3) What is Merivel's personality like at the end of the novel? In what ways is he still the same, and in what ways has he changed?

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

Religion and the presence of God is a strong motif throughout the novel. Discuss religion in the novel.

1) Compare the King to God. How are they similar? How are they different?

2) What relationship do the Quakers at the mental hospital have with God? What affect does this relationship have on Merivel?

3) What relationship does Merivel have with God and religion?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 570 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample