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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. Is Marlowe charged with a crime?

2. When Degarmo notices Marlowe is limping, what does he ask?

3. What choice does Marlowe give the woman he meets at the Peacock Lounge?

4. Where does Marlowe suggest Muriel Chess drowned Crystal Kingsley?

5. What does the woman at the bungalow in Westmore Street assume Marlowe is there for?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Patton shoots at Degarmo, what does Degarmo do?

2. According to Marlowe, why did Muriel Chess have an affair with Lavery?

3. What is the reaction of the younger policeman, Eddie, when he sees the gun on the table?

4. After leaving the crime scene, what does Degarmo try to convince the other police officer?

5. As Degarmo seemingly gets away, what sentiment does Marlowe utter twice?

6. How does Grayson describe Dr. Almore's practice?

7. What does Marlowe notice happening on the street as he tries to talk to Mrs. Talley?

8. What does Degarmo do when Patton makes it clear that he can't let Degarmo go?

9. How does the desk sergeant annoy Degarmo?

10. What reason does Marlowe give to Degarmo for telling Degarmo all Marlowe suspects, on the ride up to Kingsley's cabin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Lady in the Lake is written in the first person narrative point of view, from the perspective of Marlowe. Discuss the novel's point of view.

1) Why does the author choose the first person narrative point of view? Why is the story told from Marlowe's perspective?

2) What does Marlowe reveal to the reader, as narrator, and when? What does Marlowe keep hidden from the reader, though he may know it himself?

3) How does the first person narration affect the tone of the novel? How is it appropriate to the genre?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the treatment of women and the idea of the femme fatale in the novel.

1) What are the women in the novel like? Are there positive and negative women characters, and what are their qualities? How do they compare to real women?

2) Who in the novel is a femme fatale? How is any femme fatale in the novel similar to and different from the archetype of the femme fatale?

3) How do women treat men in the novel? How do men treat women?

Essay Topic 3

Marlowe delves into an underground world of crime and corruption that lives beneath the normal-seeming surface world of the city. Discuss the presence of this underground world in the novel.

1) What different segments of society are present in the novel? How does Marlowe travel between them?

2) What aspects of society in the novel remain hidden? What is it taboo to talk about?

3) What open secrets are there in the novel? An open secret is something illicit and undiscussed, but something that everyone knows about.

(see the answer keys)

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