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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 name does Merivel go by at Whittlesea?

2. How many games does Merivel win?

3. From what symptoms is Pearce suffering?

4. What happens while Merivel is trying to cure Katherine?

5. How does Katherine feel about Merivel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the most insane patients treated?

2. What does Merivel offer Finn?

3. What happens when Merivel illicitly visits Katherine?

4. What does Merivel discover when he examines Pearce?

5. What does the staff of the hospital decide to do because of the plague?

6. How does Merivel feel about Pearce?

7. How does Merivel feel about Bath?

8. How does Katherine react to the world outside the hospital?

9. What does the King advise Merivel to do with his life?

10. What prompts Katherine to try to hang herself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss rulership and leadership in the novel.

1) The novel centers around King Charles II. What kind of a ruler is he? What qualities make the King a good or a bad leader of his kingdom?

2) What kind of leaders are the Quakers who run the mental hospital? Are they good leaders or bad leaders? How do they make decisions for the people that they govern and care for?

3) What kind of a leader is Merivel? In what instances does Merivel take on a leadership role? Why, and who does he lead? How successful is he?

Essay Topic 3

Both Merivel and other characters have meaningful dreams in the novel. Discuss the meaning of dreams throughout the novel.

1) Merivel dreams of the King. Is the King of Merivel's dreams the King he knows in life, or does the King represent something different in Merivel's dreams?

2) What does Merivel learn from his dreams? What could Merivel learn that he is not recognizing?

3) What meanings do other characters dreams have? Why does the Quaker hospital worker dream of God, and what do his dreams mean to him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 712 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample