View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. One night after parting from Alley, Katey takes what action in the restaurant's restroom?

2. Into whom does Katey run when she is at the party to which Dicky has led her?

3. Before leaving Tinker, Hank places what kind of hat on Tinker's head?

4. What does Katey name as the cheapest form of entertainment?

5. What does Katey do with the flapper jacket?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does the relationship between Katey and Tinker change during their trip to the Adirondacks?

2. In what way does the theme of hypocrisy enter the narrative in relation to Katey?

3. What confession does Tinker make to Katey during their time in the Adirondacks?

4. Into whom does Katey run at a Conde Nast-associated party and what does she realize about this person?

5. In what way does Tinker demonstrate an understanding of Katey's character when he constructs an invitation to meet with him again?

6. What is the significance of Wallace's gift to his young relative?

7. In what way does the beginning of Chapter 16 echo the novel's epigraph?

8. The origin of what important relationship of Katey's is revealed within Chapter 16 when Katey attends a party at Whileaway?

9. In what way does Towles instill his description of Eve's fate with a tone of approval?

10. Though conversation is scant during Katey's ride home from the party at Whileaway in Val(entine)'s car, the two do agree on one thing. What is it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Amor Towles's novel Rules of Civility from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

Essay Topic 2

Trace the characterization arc of Katey’s character throughout the novel. Discuss whether she is a round or flat character and whether she is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of the novel that describe the close relationship between a choice made in youth and the dramatic impact it can have on the remainder of one's life. What is Towles's purpose for discussing at length the nature of the connection between one small moment in time and the unfolding of the rest of one's life?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,194 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample