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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. How did the narrator feel when he was in Paris?

2. What kind of dreams did the main character have about women when he was a child?

3. What was the main character's uncle's name?

4. What holiday did the narrator talk about at the beginning of 'Combray'?

5. What did the main character like to listen to as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the main character hate about going to bed as a boy?

2. Why did the narrator like Combray more than Paris?

3. What did the narrator call his parents and what does this reveal about them?

4. What happened one night when the narrator sent a note that he needed his mother?

5. Why was Great Aunt always happy when the narrator's family would visit her?

6. What was the narrator very protective of as a young boy?

7. What did the narrator do after reading one book by Bergotte?

8. What was intriguing to the narrator about Charles Swann?

9. Why was the way Grandmother treated Charles Swann so ironic?

10. How did the narrator fill his days in Combray?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Obsession is a theme present in a number of places in the plot. What are some of the best examples of this theme, and how did the presence of this theme affect the outcome of this book?

Essay Topic 2

Marcel Proust presents the idea that there are two sides to every man. Choose three of the characters from the book and write about their dual natures and how this duality affected the characters around them.

Essay Topic 3

Despair is an emotion that affected a number of the characters in this book. Which characters were most affected by despair, and how did this change the course of the plot branches they were involved in?

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