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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. Who catches the couple in the parlor in the beginning of Chapter 2?

2. Who does Simone state she will only "do it" with?

3. Why are the servants loyal to Simone?

4. What do the two youths do together following Simone's actions in Chapter 1?

5. What does Marcelle do when she returns to the room?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Simone wearing when the narrator and she first have a sexual experience at the villa?

3. What does the couple see almost immediately after entering the sanitarium grounds, and how do they know this indicates Marcelle is involved?

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

5. What has happened to Marcelle after the orgy? How does the couple discover what has happened to Marcelle? What do they think of doing to help her?

6. What does Simone develop an urge to do with eggs at the beginning of Chapter 2?

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

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

9. Explain what Marcelle does during the orgy, and once the narrator lets her go.

10. Explain the mother's first encounter with the couple in their actions, and her reaction, as well as their reaction to the mother.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marcelle is transformed in the novel from a mutual, pious friend of Simone and the narrator to an insane, suicidal sexually deviant psychopath. Explain how and why this transformation occurred. What were signs in the novel that indicated these changes in Marcelle? What pushed her along the path of madness? What role did Simone and the narrator play in this path? What was the end result? Why?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator believes his search for unusual sexual behavior is somehow related to his and Simone's sense of modesty, in that they are seeking to combat modesty as completely as possible. Do you think this is the reason for their behavior? Why or why not? Do you believe some choose this path to counteract modesty? Why or why not? What else could be their reasons?

Essay Topic 3

Word association and thought association is used throughout the novel, both as a visual tool but also as a tool to convey reasons for certain behaviors. Choose one of the topics below, and write a complete analysis of how the word is associated in the novel, and what this association means in terms of the characters and/or the storyline.

1.) Associations with lightning

2.) Associations with urine

3.) Associations with the color red

4.) Associations with the Milky Way

(see the answer keys)

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