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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 Merivel's dog's name?

2. How does Merivel think Celia looks when she arrives?

3. How does Merivel feel about the loss of his dog?

4. For whose benefit does the King ask Merivel to marry Celia?

5. Who interrupts Merivel's wedding night?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why has Celia come to the mansion?

2. Describe what Finn tells Merivel about the present Finn brings.

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

4. How does Merivel set about the job given to him by the Justice of the Peace?

5. What does Merivel think of his first attempts at painting?

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

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

8. What is the distinction between the Idle and the Impotent?

9. How does Merivel convince Lady Bathurst that she has nothing to worry about regarding Celia?

10. What does Celia look like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Love is an important element of Merivel's relationships with others. Discuss love in the novel.

1) Who does Merivel love and why? What is his love for the King based on? What is his love for Pearce based on? What is his love for Celia based on? Does Merivel truly love any of these characters?

2) Who loves Merivel, and why? What is Katherine's love for Merivel based on? What is Merivel's servant's love for him based on? Does Merivel return any of the other characters' love?

3) How does love between the characters govern their actions in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the different settings in the novel.

1) How does the King's palace differ from how the majority of people in the kingdom live? What significance is there to the Psychic Garden or to other areas of the King's palace?

2) What does Merivel's decoration of his manor indicate about his own personality? Why does the manor give Merivel a position as Lord and as Overseer of the Poor? What other significance does the manor have?

3) What does the setting of the mental hospital add to the novel? What significance do the hospital's gates have?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of medicine in the novel.

1) Why does the author choose the medical field as Merivel's profession? What does his desire to be a doctor say about his personality? What is the role of a doctor in a society?

2) How effective is Merivel as a doctor? What qualities does Merivel have that make him a good or bad doctor? How much control does Merivel have over how effective a doctor he is?

(see the answer keys)

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