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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 Kingsley leaves his office, where does he tell Miss Fromsett he is going?

2. What does Marlowe find out about De Soto when he calls the police department?

3. What does Marlowe hear as he approaches the nearest cabin at the lake?

4. What does Degarmo accuse Marlowe of?

5. What is the first thing Marlowe sees of the woman at Lavery's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kingsley act, when Marlowe first meets him?

2. Where is Lavery going, when he leaves the house?

3. What does Lavery look like?

4. What does Marlowe ask about that Lavery seems to react to, as if it makes him think or wonder something he's not saying?

5. What does Marlowe say that they'll have to do to get financial information about Kingsley's wife?

6. How would you characterize the way that Miss Fromsett treats Marlowe?

7. What important information does the bellhop at the Prescott Hotel offer, based on the photo of Crystal Kingsley?

8. At the end of chapter fourteen, what does Marlowe tell Kingsley is his next step?

9. How does Marlowe know the name of the person who lives across the street from Lavery?

10. How does Bill Chess respond when Marlowe asks if Muriel and Crystal might have gone away together?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Through Marlowe's association with crime, he naturally is associated with police and law enforcers. Discuss the police and law enforcers in the novel.

1) What different sides are there to police and law enforcement in the novel, both positive and negative?

2) How does Marlowe relate to the police in the novel? What is his relationship with law enforcement like?

3) Discuss specific officers of the law in the novel, including Patton, Degarmo, Webber, and uniformed police Marlowe deals with. How do they perceive their jobs? How do they deal with the multifaceted nature of law enforcement?

Essay Topic 2

Marlowe's job puts him into dangerous situations. Discuss danger in the novel.

1) What causes danger in the novel? How is danger inherent in Marlowe's work?

2) How does Marlowe react to dangerous situations? What are his emotional responses? What are his intellectual responses, and what action does he take?

3) How do the antagonists in the novel react when they are in danger?

Essay Topic 3

The Lady in the Lake is set in the summer, in Southern California. Both the heat and the locale impact the novel. Discuss the novel's setting.

1) What places in Southern California does Marlowe visit? How are these locations characteristic of Southern California? What lifestyles do they evoke?

2) Why does the author choose the summer to set the story in? What do the references to the heat accomplish in the novel?

3) How do Marlowe's descriptions of specific locations, like Kingsley's office or Lavery's home, set the tone for the novel and give information to the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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