View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who phones Tom after breakfast?

2. What does Tom tell McCarron that Dickie could never have done?

3. What does the Naples bank demand?

4. What does Mrs. Cartwright tell stories about?

5. What does Tom remember about Dickie?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Tom think Marge is so friendly to Mr. Greenleaf?

2. Why do the police want to know where Tom Ripley is ?

3. What does Tom tell Marge on the phone?

4. What lies does Tom tell McCarron?

5. What does Marge think about the situation with Dickie?

6. Why does Tom hate being himself?

7. Why does it frighten Tom that he has to go to Naples to verify Tom's signature in person?

8. How does Tom fake Dickie's will?

9. Why can Tom not tell Marge what he really thinks about the party?

10. Why does Marge think that Dickie's signature must have changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Highsmith writes the THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY in the third person. Why do you think Highsmith chose to write the story in the third person? How do you think the meaning of the story would have changed if Highsmith wrote it in the first person?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Tom hate himself? How much is this self-hatred responsible for Tom's actions so far in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the novel's dialogue. How does Highsmith's dialogue contribute to the following areas:

1) Character

2) Setting

3) Plot

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 668 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample