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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. Why does the narrator ask about the screens on the window?

2. Why does Giampaolo say he trademarked the name Archimede Seguso?

3. What does Count Marcello insist Venetians never do?

4. What does the Plant Man like to ask people?

5. What is Giampaolo's view of glassmaking?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Rose Lauritzen's problems with the "magazzino" as detailed in Chapter 3.

2. Explain what Rose tells the narrator about the safety of the city of Venice.

3. Who is Peter Lauritzen and how has he established himself in Venice?

4. Describe the exchange between Ludovico De Luigi and Venice's mayor during the meeting at the Ateneo Veneto in Chapter 2.

5. How did Felice Casson establish himself as a hard-driving investigator?

6. What does Count Marcello tell the narrator during the prologue?

7. What examples does the narrator give for the public outpouring of support after the fire at the Fenice?

8. Describe Archimede Seguso's state of mind and his activities since the Fenice fire.

9. What does the narrator learn about Alistair McAlpine at the party?

10. What does the narrator say about Venice at the beginning of Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Drawing on what you know about the book's critical reception, explain how the author's own telling of the story plays in to the book's theme of truth and deception.

Essay Topic 2

Using the example of the Fenice fire investigation, describe how the narrator portrays guilt and innocence in this crime and within Venetian culture.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the conflict between nobility and democracy the narrator weaves at the Carnival ball in Chapter 6 through the narrative about the characters of Alvise Loredan and the "Rat Man" of Treviso, and explain how this conflict is relevant to Venetian culture as a whole.

(see the answer keys)

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