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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. How does Katherine feel about Merivel?

2. Who comes to the hospital for a visit and is turned away?

3. At the funeral, what does Merivel express toward Pearce?

4. What does Merivel do to help Katherine fall asleep?

5. What does Pearce lose, that Merivel helps him find?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Merivel discover when he examines Pearce?

3. How are the most insane patients treated?

4. What prompts Katherine to try to hang herself?

5. How does Merivel react to Katherine's death?

6. How does Merivel feel about Pearce?

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

8. How does Will feel about his master leaving?

9. How does the King feel about Merivel, after time has passed?

10. How does Merivel react to Piepold?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the novel, responsibility is an important theme. The King holds the responsibility for his kingdom and its people. Parents hold responsibility for their children; lords hold responsibility for peasants and servants. People are responsible for their animals. Discuss responsibility in the novel.

1) What is the relationship of power and responsibility in the novel? What are the consequences for the powerful of neglecting their responsibilities?

2) How do the characters in the novel take responsibility for their own lives? To what extend are the characters capable of being responsible for their own lives and destinies?

3) When and why do characters take responsibility for others?

Essay Topic 2

Merivel experiences different types of lives in the novel. He lives in the King's Court. He lives in a manor as a Lord. He also lives in a mental hospital, and in Cheapside, an impoverished area of London. In these different ways of life, Merivel finds differnt kinds of fulfillment and happiness. Discuss fulfillment and happiness in the novel.

1) Where is Merivel most fulfilled and happiness? Why?

2) Compare Merivel's happiness in the presence of the King to his happiness in the presence of Pearce. What different types of fulfillment do Merivel's most valued friends provide him?

3) How does Merivel's perception of what will make him happy change over the course of the novel?

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?

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