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. Which paper does the narrator mention that reports on the many suspicious coincidences surrounding the Fenice fire?

2. What does one attendant of the meeting at the Ateneo Veneto bring as a memento from the fire?

3. What was the floor in Rose and Peter's basement apartment previously made of?

4. What do the Lauritzens do while talking that makes it difficult for the narrator to follow them?

5. What animal does the narrator physically compare Venice to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Capitano Mario Moro.

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

3. What does the Fenice custodian's attorney say about the panel of experts?

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

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

6. Paraphrase what Alvise Loredan tells the narrator at the Carnival ball in Chapter 6.

7. What problem does the fire create for Signora Marcello, and how does she deal with the problem?

8. Who is the Rat Man of Treviso and what does he do? What's special about what he does?

9. What does Rosa Barovier tell the narrator about Murano and the Seguso family?

10. What does Gino Seguso tell the narrator about Giampaolo's actions and intentions since Giampaolo left the company?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using specific details from the story, compare and contrast Gino and Giampaolo Seguso's views of family as presented in Chapter 7.

Essay Topic 2

Explain how the outcome of De Luigi's vandalism of the Fenice mural at the rebuilding site differs from what he expected and how the policeman's comment to De Luigi is significant for the rest of the story.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,528 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample