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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 does the couple in Chapter 5 do for a living?

2. Which of the Pericand children guards the cat and is afraid of losing him?

3. In Chapter 16, where have the Pericand family found a place to sleep?

4. What does the hotel room that Gabriel Corte refuses to take look out on?

5. At the beginning of the novel, what are the citizens waking up to prepare for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the status of Jean-Marie Michauds health in Chapter 24?

2. What does the elder Monsieur Pericand dictate in his will to the notary?

3. Describe the character of Charlotte Pericand.

4. Describe the Pericand's charity in Chapter 10 and why it comes to an abrupt stop.

5. What is the atmosphere of Paris and among its citizens in Chapters 5 and 6?

6. What does Hubert find when he arrives to join in the fight on the Allier River?

7. Why is Father Philippe Pericand torn by his feelings about the boys he is caring for?

8. Describe the Michauds.

9. Describe the character of Arlette Corail.

10. What is the feeling of the townspeople when the Germans finally arrive in the town where Arlette Corail is staying?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nemirovsky does not launch into extensive descriptions of her characters but rather allows her characters to reveal their own personalities, as well as the relationships they have with other characters. How do the characters in the novel accomplish this? How do we learn about the characters through the action in the novel? What do we learn about the characters through their relationships with other characters? What does this do for the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, we see the development of the characters, and lack thereof, through their experiences and situations. Discuss how the war is the catalyst of change for the individual characters in the novel. How do the experiences of the characters and the situations in which the war finds them in bring out the true nature of the characters? Provide examples with the development of at least three characters.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the attitudes of the rich toward the poor in the novel. How do we see these attitudes expressed? Which characters express their opinion of the poor, either through words or actions? How do we see the division of the rich and the poor displayed even during war? Do the rich have an easier time during the war and the evacuation? Provide examples.

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