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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. When John Dowell's wife passes away, what does he want to do with the money he inherits from her estate?
2. In Part 1, Chapter 6, what does Florence Dowell try to convince Leonora Ashburnham to do?
3. How do Leonora and Captain Edward Ashburnham meet and fall in love?
4. What is Nancy Rufford's relationship to Leonora Ashburnham?
5. In what position does Leonora find Maisie Maidan's body?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why does John Dowell laugh at Leonora Ashburnham when she says she can learn to "accept the situation" between Florence Dowell and Captain Edward Ashburnham?
2. Why does Florence Dowell commit suicide?
3. Why does John Dowell enjoy the train ride to the castle?
4. Describe Captain Edward Ashburnham's reputation and accomplishments.
5. By the end of Part 2, Chapter 2, both Florence Dowell and Maisie Maidan have died. Compare and contrast the death of Maisie Maidan and the death of Florence Dowell.
6. In Part 1, Chapter 2, John Dowell recites a folktale about a she-wolf who betrays her husband for a poet. Why is John's telling of the folktale significant?
7. Describe the marriage between Leonora Ashburnham and Captain Edward Ashburnham.
8. Describe the Ashburnhams relationship with the Dowells and the "nine years of uninterrupted tranquility" that transpires between them.
9. In Part 1, Chapter 3, John Dowell recalls one particular dress his wife Florence wore during their stay at Nauheim. Describe the dress and its significance.
10. According to John Dowell, why does Florence never tell John the truth about her sexual history?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the significance of John Dowell's unreliability as a narrator. To what extent can the reader accept John's vision of the world as the truth? Is John's unreliability as a narrator a tantalizing source of conflict within the novel or merely an aesthetic fumble on the part of the author? How would the reader's experience change if the novel were told from a third person, omniscient point of view? Does the use of an unreliable narrator at all relate to the novel's themes?
Essay Topic 2
Is Edward Ashburnham a sympathetic character or is he entirely a villain? If Edward is indeed sympathetic, in what instances can the reader view him sympathetically?
Essay Topic 3
Consider Edward Ashburnham as a romantic hero. Is Edward Ashburnham wrong for satisfying his romantic desires or is he simply a libertine who casts aside the established norms of his society? Are Edward's sexual liaisons simply Edward's way of expressing his individuality? Is Edward more "free" than other characters because he acts on his desires and does not pay heed to the arbitrary obligations imposed by the institution of marriage?
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This section contains 1,155 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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