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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 the Duchess invite her guests after the party?

2. What is the party the Duchess invites Basil and Mary to in honor of?

3. Where does Richard practice his swordsmanship?

4. What are the revolting workers doing?

5. What is Alec doing when Richard awakes?

Short Essay Questions

1. What explanation does Lord Ferris give Katherine for asking her to stay with himself, Lord Horn, and Basil?

2. Who does Richard tell Ginnie to thank, and why?

3. When Basil meets with Lord Ferris, what does he ask Lord Ferris to do?

4. Why is it ill-advised for Lord Horn to send the letter he sends to Richard?

5. What does Ginnie Vandall think of Richard's performance in the sword fight?

6. What happens when Alec wakes Richard during the night, after Richard's meeting with Katherine?

7. What does Richard say after he kills Brent?

8. Who do Richard and Alec meet as they watch the party, and what does this person tell Richard?

9. Why does Michael originally decide that he will sleep with Lord Horn?

10. How does Basil look in comparison to Michael?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss power and corruption in the novel?

1) Who among the nobility has power? How do the nobles gain, keep, and use their power?

2) Lord Horn and Lord Ferris are corrupt. How does their corruption affect how they use their power? What corrupts them? How are they different from Lord Basil?

3) Who among the lower classes has power? How do the lower-class gain, keep, and use their power?

Essay Topic 2

Richard, as a swordsman, has a violent and even bloodthirsty role in the novel. Discuss violence and death in the novel.

1) How does the society look at death? How seriously does the society take death and violence?

2) What power does Richard's ability to inflict death give him? What other characters gain power through death and violence?

3) How is violence viewed differently by the different social classes in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The nobility in the novel is very concerned with appearances and fashion. Discuss the role of appearances and fashion in the novel.

1) How is the nobility obsessed with appearance? How does appearance affect social status?

2) Why doe Richard get a new suit to go to the theater? What is his perception of this suit, and what role does it play in the culture he is moving in?

3) What does the nobility's obsession with appearance and fashion say about their values?

(see the answer keys)

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