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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 Strether go on his second day?

2. From where does Strether recognize the young lady?

3. What does Strether say he has heard about Madame de Vionnet in Book 5?

4. What is the plot of the play in Book 2?

5. How does Strether describe Chad's apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Strether learn Miss Gostrey's name?

2. To whom does Chad introduce Strether at the party in Book 5?

3. What does Strether ask Bilham in Book 5?

4. What does Chad reply when Strether asks him if he is engaged to Jeanne de Vionnet?

5. What does Strether tell Miss Gostrey about Bilham when she first returns to Paris?

6. How does Strether recognize Miss Gostrey?

7. Which characters have breakfast together at Chad's apartment in Book 3?

8. How does Miss Gostrey know Waymarsh?

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

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

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

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.

Essay Topic 3

There are many instances in the novel of characters being disingenuous, lying, or withholding information. Strether occasionally notices these lies but does not count them as strong moral judgments. Write an essay explaining what justifies lying from Strether's point of view, including whether you consider that all lies are justified or only in specific circumstances.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 515 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample