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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. How much money does Marlowe ask for as a retainer?

2. What are the initials on the handkerchief Marlowe finds in Lavery's room?

3. What does Marlowe ask Kingsley for?

4. What does Marlowe ask Kingsley, before explaining what he's discovered?

5. What does Marlowe tell Birdie?

Short Essay Questions

1. What gives Marlowe a scare while he is searching the Chesses' cabin?

2. Under what terms does Marlowe accept the offer of five hundred dollars from Kingsley?

3. What excuse does Bill Chess give for his erratic behavior?

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

5. What does Birdie know about Marlowe's identity?

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

7. Why does Marlowe initially sit in his car after visiting Lavery?

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

9. What reason does Sheriff Patton give why Bill might have stayed in town if he killed his wife?

10. How does Mr. Kingsley feel about his secretary?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marlowe learns the truth through investigation and interviewing. Discuss investigation and interviewing in the novel.

1) What techniques does Marlowe use to investigate? How does he approach interviewing people?

2) How do Marlowe's interviewing techniques vary in different situations, with different people?

3) What information is Marlowe able to acquire by talking to people? What makes his interviews effective or ineffective?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

The Lady in the Lake is structured in 41 short chapters. Discuss the novel's structure.

1) Why does the author choose many short chapters instead of longer ones? Why are some conversations spread over more than one chapter?

2) What is the climax of the novel? How does the novel build to the climax, and how does it resolve?

3) What stages does Marlowe go through in his journey to unravel the truth?

(see the answer keys)

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