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

2. What jewelry does Adrienne Fromsett wear?

3. What does Marlowe use to open the locked door?

4. What stops Marlowe from leaving, when he reaches down to turn on his ignition?

5. What does Lavery tell Marlowe about Crystal Kingsley?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Where do Marlowe and Birdie go to talk?

3. How does Kingsley react to news of Muriel's death?

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

5. What encounter did Kingsley have, that made him worried about his wife?

6. What does Bill Chess do to himself, after shouting at the sheriff to arrest him?

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

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

10. What does Marlowe discover when he examines the item he takes from the woman in Lavery's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Lady in the Lake has multiple antagonists who have different goals. Discuss the antagonists in the novel.

1) What antagonists in the novel are obvious and what antagonists are hidden? How do multiple antagonists function in the genre to create mystery and conflict?

2) Discuss Degarmo and Mildred Haviland as antagonists. What different roles do they fill?

3) How do the police function as antagonists?

Essay Topic 2

The Lady in the Lake involves characters changing and hiding their Identities. Discuss the concept of identity in the novel.

1) How is identity obscured in the novel? Who attempts to obscure their identity, and why?

2) How do the characters know others' identities? How do characters create their identities?

3) How does Marlowe formulate his own identity? How do others perceive him?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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