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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 happening when Paul returns from the restroom to the table?

2. What do the boys tell the bum to say when they attack him/her?

3. What does Paul have to explain to the hostess at the restaurant, which greatly annoys him?

4. Who does Paul tell Michel he is trying to call on his phone when Michel arrives to pick it up at the restaurant?

5. What does Paul do shortly before leaving the house for dinner?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Michel call his father while he his at the restaurant?

2. To what films does Paul compare the setting and people of Dordogne in Chapter 12?

3. How does Paul describe the people of Dordogne in Chapter 12?

4. What does the man with the beard ask of Paul? Why?

5. How is the arrival of Serge and Babette at the restaurant described?

6. How does Paul react to the waiter who tells him about the apertif?

7. How is Rick's behavior described in the video?

8. Why does Paul go into the restroom after finding Claire and Babette in the garden? Does he achieve his objective?

9. What movie is discussed over dinner? What does Serge observe about the film?

10. How is the novel structured? What are its main sections?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the events and developments that are implied but not presented in the novel. What critical events happened "off-stage"? Why do you think the author chose not to explicitly show certain events?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Paul's history of violence that is revealed through the course of the narrative. When did Paul begin exhibiting violent behavior? What is revealed to be the root of Paul's violence? What is the significance of Paul's violence to the novel's plot?

Essay Topic 3

Explore significance of the novel's narrative style. What would the novel be like if told from one of the other characters' points of view? Do you think the other characters in the novel would be more or less reliable narrators? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 788 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample