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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 is the premise of the novel that results in rounds of story telling?

2. Where does the monk take a woman?

3. What does the foolish Alibech think she is doing when she allows the monk to have his way with her?

4. What does a monk see that ignites his temptation?

5. Who is the next rival for the favor of Alatiel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Alatiel after she is taken to safety?

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

3. How does Brother Alberto take advantage of Lisetta whom he calls Lady Halfwit?

4. What means of entertainment do the young people devise?

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

6. How does Andreuccio become the victim of a scam in Naples?

7. What bothers Brother Alberto about one of the women who comes to him for confession?

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

9. What ultimately happens after Ciappelletto dies?

10. What happens to Ciappelletto while staying with two Florentine brothers in Burgundy?

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, Sexuality in THE DECAMERON. Select three examples of sexual behavior related in the tales told in THE DECAMERON. Discuss the manner in which these are presented made quite clear without going into graphic detail.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, How Bernie Madoff Compares with Brother Onion. Using Brother Onion's feather from the wing of Gabriel and charcoal from the burning of St. Lorenzo, compare those things with Madoff's use of his connections and expertise on Wall Street to dupe people into investing money that he had no intention of returning. Define how people who want to believe in something are easily led.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, THE DECAMERON as a Forerunner to Novels with Sexual Themes. First discuss the largely sexual nature of THE DECAMERON. Then compare the work to Henry Fielding's TOM JONES, Daniel Defoe's MOLL FLANDERS, and Henry Miller's TROPIC OF CANCER.

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