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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. From where does Strether recognize the young lady?

2. What does Strether tell Miss Gostrey about Bilham in Book 3?

3. Who joins Strether for breakfast in Book 3?

4. What does Madame de Vionnet ask Strether in Book 5?

5. Why does Chad suspect that Strether wants to bring him home?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is the garden party to which Chad invites Strether in Book 5?

2. What physical change does Strether notice in Chad?

3. What does Madame de Vionnet say to Strether when she first meets him?

4. Where does Strether first encounter Chad Newsome?

5. How does Miss Gostrey know Waymarsh?

6. Why does Chad's mother want him to return to America?

7. To what does Miss Barrace compare Waymarsh when she first meets him?

8. How much time elapses before Miss Gostrey arrives in Paris in Book 3?

9. What analogy does Waymarsh use to refer to Strether's errand in Book 3?

10. How do Madame de Vionnet and Miss Gostrey know one another?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Strether frequently speaks of living life to the fullest. Write an essay in which you describe what this means to Strether, how he has learned this lesson, and why it is important to him.

Essay Topic 2

Though the narration is third-person, the reader experiences much of the action through the point of view of Lambert Strether. Write an essay in which you argue whether this third-person narration is reliable or limited. Use evidence from the text to justify your answer.

Essay Topic 3

James' novel is a complex psychological portrait of Lambert Strether. Write an essay in which you analyze Strether's emotions. Also track how his emotions change or develop in the course of the novel. Use evidence from the text to support your analysis.

(see the answer keys)

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