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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. Where does Marcelle go to be alone?

2. What does the couple imagine Marcelle doing at the beginning of Chapter 4?

3. What does the narrator threaten in a note to his mother?

4. What does the narrator note caused Simone's extreme orgasm the night of the party?

5. What effect does the startling event at the beginning of Chapter 4 have on Simone?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the narrator's trip through the sanitarium.

2. Explain the mother's second encounter with the couple in their actions, and her reaction as well as the reaction of the couple.

3. Explain how the orgy in Chapter 2 takes place.

4. Explain why, despite being modest, Simone and the narrator have the relationship they have?

5. How do the parents find out about the orgy, and what do the parents do when they discover what has occurred?

6. Explain what the narrator does after fleeing the orgy and before seeking Simone.

7. Explain what the narrator thinks as he chases down the unknown naked woman, and the reality of who the woman is.

8. How is the violence of the thunderstorm linked to the violence of the actions of Simone and the narrator in Chapter 1?

9. What happens when the narrator finds Simone, and what is the accidental result that rises Marcelle from her room?

10. Explain what Simone does with the saucer of milk in the first chapter.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following topics to discuss:

1.) Many have criticized the novel as being pornographic without a cause. What do you think the ending moral of the story is? Do you believe the author had a purpose in writing the novel? If so, what was it? If not, why did he write the novel?

2.) There are several graphical scenes in the novel that use harsh, if not crude, words. Do you believe the author could have achieved his goals in writing the novel without such harsh language? Why or why not? What is the purpose of such language within the context of the book? Does it serve a purpose? If so, what is it? If not, why was it used?

3.) There are several references to very unusual sexual acts within the novel. Do you feel these references were necessarily graphic? Why or why not? Did these graphic depictions serve a purpose in the novel? If so, what was it? If not, why was the author so graphic in his depictions?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of the narrator and Sir Edmond. What are their similarities? What are their differences? What are the differences in terms of their relationship with Simone? How does each character change throughout the novel? What is the motive behind their actions and behaviors? Why does each continue to associate with Simone?

Essay Topic 3

Obsessions are a common theme used throughout the novel. Choose two obsessions focused on in the novel, and explain them in detail. What are the obsessions? Who has them? How do they develop? What is their root cause? What do the characters do to satisfy their obsessions? Do their efforts work? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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