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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. Who does the headmaster leave in charge of the school while he is on leave?

2. How does Jia Rui eventually die?

3. What do Bao-yu and Qin Zhong quickly learn about each other?

4. What is the alleged, but inaccurate, reason given for Jia Rui becoming ill?

5. What happens to Jia Rui at the time of his first secret meeting?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the divide between rich and poor developed in Chapter 2?

2. Is the fact that Dai-yu is offered flowers last in Chapter 7 a reasonable reflection of her status in the house at that time?

3. In what ways is more of Xi-feng's character revealed in her thoughts about Qin-shi and her dealings with Jia Rui?

4. Explore the meaning/possible symbolism behind Bao-yu's experience in the dream in Chapter 5.

5. What thematic devices can be drawn from Bao-yu's relationship with women both during his dream and afterward?

6. Describe Bao-yu's relationship to alcohol in Chapter 8.

7. What is your opinion of Aroma's decision to allow Bao-yu to "have his way" with her following her discovery of his dream?

8. What can we understand from Zhen Shi-yin's dream in the first chapter?

9. In what way does Dai-yu express her jealousy and somewhat obsessive attitude towards Bao-yu in the beginning of Chapter 9?

10. How does the author establish karma as a central theme in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Destiny and predestination is a central theme throughout the novel. What narrative devices does the author utilize to maintain the reader's interest in this idea through an atmosphere of inevitability that pervades the novel's subtext?

Essay Topic 2

How is the framing story of the stone's background an effective foundation for the author to build the rest of the action upon?

Essay Topic 3

What is the author's reasoning behind having such a large number of important and clearly defined characters? Illustrate your answer with examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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