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. What does Miss Barrace say about Chad in Book 10?

2. What food do Strether and Miss Gostrey eat together in Chapter 12?

3. Who does Strether feel took his place with Chad?

4. On what day does Madame de Vionnet ask Strether to call?

5. What surprises Strether about the Pococks?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whom does Strether encounter at the Cheval Blanc?

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

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

4. What is the couple whom Strether finds at the Cheval Blanc doing when he first sees them?

5. Who has departed for Switzerland in Book 11?

6. How many times as Strether written to Miss Gostrey during her absence?

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

8. How does Strether travel outside of Paris in Book 11?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay in which you argue which character (from among Lambert Strether, Jim Pocock, Mamie Pocock, and Sarah Pocock) is the most effective in his or her capacity as an ambassador. Explain what makes him or her the best ambassador. Use details from the text to justify your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The entire novel concerns the question of Chad's return to America. Analyze whether or not Chad's decision was predictable. In your essay, also discuss whether or not you think Strether had confidence that he would succeed in his mission? Did your expectation of success (or Strether's) change during the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 499 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample