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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 name of the prestigious family about which the story is told?

2. What is the reason given against Yu-cun arresting Xue?

3. Why does Bao-yu make a scene upon returning home from his visit with Bao-chai?

4. What does the family take notice in terms of Dai-yu's situation?

5. Before Bao-yu leaves for school, his father berates him for _____.

Short Essay Questions

1. Despite his limited presence, what becomes clear about Bao-yu during the first few episodes that involve him?

2. How does the connection between Bao-yu and Bao-chai deepen in Chapter 7?

3. How does the author make it clear in Chapter 1 that the reader should expect an element of the supernatural in the novel?

4. Explain the symbol of Greensickness Peak in relation to the rest of the novel.

5. 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?

6. Discuss briefly the ways in which Dai-yu's personality is developed during her first days in the Jia household.

7. What can be understood from the events surrounding the situation at the school in regard to other school children making fun of the boys of the Jia clan?

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

9. Although the Jia family throws a spectacular birthday party for Jia Jing even though he refuses to leave the monastery to attend, much of the conversation centers on Qin-shi's puzzling illness. Hypothesize as to why this is.

10. How does the story of Jia Rui teach a lesson about undue lust?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Dai-yu and Bao-chai. How are they similar? How are they different?

Essay Topic 2

The fact that Bao-yu eventually chooses to be with Bao-chai and not Dai-yu, his supposed predestined soulmate of the past and future, comes as a surprise. Discuss the reasons why the author would choose to take the narrative in this direction.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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