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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. Eventually what happens to Rustico?

2. When Abraham returns, what does he want to do that surprises Giannotto?

3. Who determines who will tell the stories on each successive night?

4. Where does Abraham insist on going to find out about Christianity?

5. For what is Andreuccio di Pietro famous?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the happy occasion for Alatiel as she prepares to get married.

2. Why have the young people of the novel left Florence and gone into the country?

3. What do the brothers think when they hear Ciappelletto's confession?

4. What do the village women tell Alibech after she explains how she put the devil back into hell with Rustico.

5. How dies Alatiel end up on the island of Majorca?

6. Why does Isabetta cry over a pot of basil?

7. How does the handsome Masetto manage to become the gardener for a convent of eight nuns and an abbess?

8. Describe the character of Ciappelletto who is put in charge of the affairs of Musciatto Franzesi .

9. How does Tancredi discover the affair between Ghismunda and Guiscardo?

10. Who takes Andreuccio into a scheme to make easy money?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, THE DECAMERON as an Early Example of the Modern Novel. In your essay point out how THE DECAMERON predates Chaucer's CANTERBURY TALES which is often credited as being the first modern novel. Discuss the format of THE DECAMERON and how you think it qualifies as a novel.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, The Absurdity of Applying Double Standards. Using the tale of the abbess who is caught with a man's pants on her head instead of her veil, write about applying double standards. Use both religious and political examples from the modern world as other examples in your essay.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, The Value of Quick Thinking. Find at least two examples of how a person's quick thinking in THE DECAMERON averted a serious complication. Discuss the ability to think quickly in compromising situations and give an example or two of how it might work in a situation you set up for purposes of this essay.

(see the answer keys)

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