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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 has happened to Katherine?

2. After leaving London, who does Merivel go to see?

3. Who helps Merivel make a rag doll for Katherine?

4. Why is the dance rescheduled?

5. What is written on the gate?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Merivel discover when he examines Pearce?

2. How does Merivel feel about Pearce?

3. How does Merivel feel about Bath?

4. How does Will feel about his master leaving?

5. What news does the King give Merivel when Merivel answers the summons?

6. What is Merivel able to do at the funeral that he could not do while Pearce was alive?

7. What act of bravery does Merivel commit?

8. What happens when Merivel illicitly visits Katherine?

9. What does Pearce wonder about flowers?

10. How are the most insane patients treated?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Knowledge is an important element of the novel. Discuss this element in the novel.

1) Merivel lacks modern knowledge about medicine. How does this affect his actions and his perceptions? How does it affect his ability to help people or control the world around him?

2) The value of the "nightingale" depends on knowledge about the bird. How does lack of knowledge affect the characters' reactions to the bird and their perceptions of value?

3) How does knowledge of other human beings affect their interactions and perceptions of each other in the novel? What knowledge does Merivel lack about the King? What knowledge does Katherine lack about Merivel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the values of the characters in the novel, and how the characters assign value to both material and immaterial things.

1) Discuss the valuation of the "nightingale." What gives it value to Merivel, Pearce, and Celia. Why?

2) How do the characters value immaterial things, such as love, friendship, family, tradition, and religion? What role do immaterial things play in the characters' lives?

3) How do the characters value other people? What is this valuation based on?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss poverty and social class in the novel.

1) What different social strata exist in the novel? What determines what social class the people in the novel live in?

2) What allows characters in the novel to change social status, for better or worse? Why?

3) How does Merivel treat people of different social classes?

(see the answer keys)

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