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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. On the road, how do Rabatta and Bondone dress?

2. What suddenly happens to Monna Giovanna's son?

3. What do the men leave in Brother Onion's room?

4. Who is the somewhat spoiled Caterina?

5. What is Peronella's occupation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the affair between Caterina and Ricciardo work itself out?

2. How does Brother Onion recover when he takes the charcoal out of the box instead of the feather?

3. What happens when the two men come to confess to Brother Onion what they had done.?

4. What does the daughter of Messer Lizio di Valbona, a rich knight, do that her father knows nothing about?

5. When two of Brother Onion's friends see him in the village proclaiming he will show a feather from the angel Gabriel, what do they plan to do?

6. What unusual thing causes Peronella and her lover to look for a place to hide him?

7. What plan does Caterina devise in order to be with Ricciardo?

8. What happens that Don Gianni declares has broken the spell to change Pietro's wife into a mare?

9. How are Caterina and Ricciardo found out?

10. How does Don Gianni di Barolo have his way with the wife of Pietro da Tresanti while Pietro looks on?

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 Story I Most Enjoyed in THE DECAMERON. First summarize the story you liked best and then explain in detail why that particular story caught your fancy. Be sure to mention the literary qualities of the story that made it stand out in your mind.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Why THE DECAMERON Should Be Required Reading. In your essay include the historic value of the book, the impact the book has had on modern novels, and the classic nature of the work. Discuss THE DECAMERON as a means of understanding the period of the Black Death in Europe and the attitude of living for today because tomorrow we may die. Conclude with why you think a reader is enriched by reading this particular work.

(see the answer keys)

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