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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 kind of meat does Dickie say he always used to eat on a Sunday?

2. What does Tom follow Dickie out of the bar like?

3. What part of France does Tom say he would like to see?

4. What is the name of the cafe where Tom meets a young American?

5. Where does Tom ask Dickie if he wants to go in a coffin?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it safe for Tom to tell the Greenleafs he studied in Princeton?

2. What does Tom think is an average day for Dickie and Marge?

3. Why does Tom like the relationship he has with Cleo?

4. What brings tears to Tom's eyes?

5. What does Tom write in a letter from Dickie to Marge?

6. How does Dickie anger Tom in Chapter 10?

7. What does Tom take as a good sign on the train to Naples?

8. What does Marge say in her letter to Dickie, dated January 4?

9. How does Dickie react when Tom tells him his father sent him to bring Dickie home?

10. What does Tom say to the Greenleafs in the postscript?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Tom suffer from being a homosexual in the Fifties? What do you think would happen to Tom if he openly admitted he was gay? How does Partricia Highsmith use the novel to comment on attitudes towards homosexuals in the Fifties?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the difference between American and European culture in terms of the following:

1) Religion.

2) Attitudes towards death.

3) Popular culture.

Essay Topic 3

Examine Highsmith's writing style. How would you describe Highsmith's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does she use? Does she use any specific writing techniques? What meaning does Highsmith's style give to the story?

(see the answer keys)

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