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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 does Vivaldi learn about Ellena's past in Chapter 1?

2. Where does Schedoni plot to send Ellena?

3. What is Ellena's reaction when she sees Vivaldi after refusing to accept the veil at the convent of San Stefano?

4. What amazes the English travelers in the Introduction?

5. With whom does Ellena leave, thanks to Olivia's help?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Vivaldi find when he returns home to see his mother, and what does he accuse this person of?

2. Where does the funeral for Signora di Bianchi take place and what invitation is extended to Ellena there?

3. What is Ellena's reaction when she learns how Vivaldi's parents feel about her?

4. Where does Schedoni plan to send Ellena in Chapter 10 and on whose appeal is he acting?

5. What choice is given to Ellena by the abbess on Chapter 8, and what is her response?

6. After leaving the shepherd's farm, where does Vivaldi seek lodging for himself and Ellena, and what does he hope to obtain while there?

7. How do Vivaldi's parents feel about his courting attempts?

8. What does Ellena fear when she attends the concert in Chapter 12, and how are her fears assuaged?

9. What does the monk warn Vivaldi against in Chapter 1 and why?

10. What does Olivia suggest that Ellena do and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two characters that act as a foil to one another. In what ways do these characters serve as opposites? Are these differences indicative of good and evil?

Essay Topic 2

How is foreshadowing used in "The Italian"? Choose one major instance of foreshadowing and follow it through the book, finishing with how the event is fulfilled.

Essay Topic 3

How are the different symbols used throughout the novel to represent abstract concepts? Detail and explain how the symbols are used to describe certain abstract concepts and which concepts they describe.

(see the answer keys)

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