View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Jia Zheng's dislike for Bao-yu towards the end of the novel?

2. What gift does Shui Rong give to Bao-yu?

3. To whose house does Bao-yu wander to to study to look at a painting that he likes?

4. Xi-feng's infant daughter becomes ill with _____.

5. What is the attitude of Jia Zheng's literary friends towards Bao-yu?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 20, how does Bao-yu show that he cares about Dai-yu?

2. What is revealed about Xi-feng's character in the episode involving a servant woman bringing money to her?

3. How is Qin-shi's honor and devotion to family seen before she dies?

4. In what ways are Bao-yu's intellectual abilities displayed in the events surrounding Yuan-chun's visit?

5. What can be understood from the relationship between Qin Zhong and Sappy?

6. For what reason(s) might Bao-yu have become discontented living in the Prospect Garden?

7. How does the family express their bereavement of and Qin-shi's death to the public?

8. What superstition in Chapter 21 is shown to be false?

9. What does the way the Jia family undertake preparations for Yuan-chun's visit show about their character when it comes to money?

10. Why do the children move into the Prospect Garden?

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

Explore the ways the author illustrates the divide between poor classes and rich classes in the novel and the various grey areas surrounding that divide.

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of illness to the story? Discuss with at least three examples and why the author chooses to make these characters ill.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,114 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample