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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 does Jim tell Strether in Chapter 8?

2. Why do Strether and Sarah not make eye contact during dinner at Chad's apartment in Chapter 10?

3. Where does Strether speak with Mamie in Book 9?

4. What does Strether tell Chad in Book 7?

5. Whom does Strether report as having lied like a genteman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom does Strether encounter at the Cheval Blanc?

2. Which new characters arrive in Paris in Book 8?

3. With whom does Strether discuss meeting in Book 11?

4. What does Chad ask Strether concerning his feelings from Chad's mother in Book 7?

5. Who does Madame de Vionnet announce is getting married in Book 9?

6. Who takes Sarah out to dinner in Book 9?

7. What does Strether do with the telegram he receives from Mrs. Newsome in Book 7?

8. What does Miss Barrace tell Strether concerning Chad in Book 10?

9. Who helped to arrange the new marriage announced in Book 9?

10. Where does Strether visit in the beginning of Book 7?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Madame de Vionnet has a profound effect on both Chad and Strether. Write an essay in which you analyze Madame de Vionnet's source of power and what she represents (and whether is it the same) for each man.

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)

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