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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 Strether tell Chad in Book 7?

2. What did Chad tell Strether in Book 7?

3. What does Miss Gostrey ask Strether in Book 7?

4. What does Strether remark of Mamie Pocock's voice in Book 9?

5. Whom does Vionnet want Sarah to spend time with?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Strether encounters Mamie Pocock, whom is she expecting?

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

3. What opinion does Mamie Pocock give Strether about Madame de Vionnet in Book 9?

4. Where is Strether's last visit in Paris?

5. What does Madame de Vionnet ask Strether concerning Mrs. Newsome?

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

7. What does Chad admit about Sarah's visit to Strether in Book 11?

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

9. Whom does Strether encounter first at the beginning of Book 7?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you examine James' psychological portrayal of his characters. Is it possible always to know what James' characters are thinking? Do certain characters' views surprise the reader? Are the thoughts of the characters of greater interest to the writer than the action of the plot? Examine the psychological complexity of the novel's characters, and argue whether you think The Ambassadors is a psychological novel.

Essay Topic 2

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.

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.

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