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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. Yale learns that which character is filing a lawsuit against the Briggs Gallery?

2. At what type of event does Yale confront Roman?

3. Fiona talks to what kind of professional in her attempts to heal from Nico's death?

4. Arnaud reports that Claire is living in what type of location outside of Paris?

5. A work by which artist is said to hang "outside the bathroom" (164) at Corinne's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What simile is used to indicate how Julian feels about Roscoe?

2. Who is Dan?

3. How does Fiona describe the setting in which Nico had died?

4. At what age had Claire started to help Fiona in the furniture store and what tasks had she performed?

5. When Yale speaks to his father over the phone, the narrator reveals that Yale has not told his father about what subjects?

6. Who is waiting for Yale when he returns home from a business trip and who is also home, but does not reveal himself?

7. What advice does Cecily give to Fiona about Fiona's meeting with Claire?

8. What techniques does Makkai use in order to portray Yale's mood as he returns home from a business trip?

9. What conclusion does Yale draw about the bad news he hears from Teresa?

10. What is Fiona's main concern about people finding out that she has slept with Jake?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the motif of dreams appear within The Great Believers and how does its treatment relate to the novel's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 2

Focus especially on elements prevalent within the text, such as the unfolding of the AIDS crisis, the pursuit of monogamy, and the effects of homophobia on the American family.

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Makkai’s novel The Great Believers. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 921 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample