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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. According to Marlowe, did Muriel Chess expect to meet Lavery in San Bernardino?

2. What color is Captain Webber's hair?

3. Who breaks the news to Kingsley that his wife is dead?

4. Where is Mrs. Kingsley's body, when Marlowe awakes?

5. What is Marlowe's cellmate doing?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the big coincidence that Marlowe identifies in the case?

3. What does the parking attendant at the Grenada assume Marlowe is there for?

4. What does Marlowe say about Muriel's explanation of why she went back to Lavery's the morning after the murder?

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

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

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

8. How does Degarmo react when Marlowe tells him about Mrs. Fallbrook?

9. Where and in what condition do Marlowe and Patton find the car that Degarmo escaped in?

10. How does Marlowe get out of the apartment at the Granada?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Degarmo both brings Marlowe into the central mystery of the story and drives the ending of the novel. Discuss Degarmo's character.

1) Why does Degarmo try to protect his wife? Why does he ultimately kill her?

2) In what ways is Degarmo corrupt? What is the motivation behind his corruption?

3) How intelligent is Degarmo? What mistakes does he make? How does Marlowe see through him?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, Phillip Marlowe encounters corruption, both moral and ethical. Discuss corruption in the novel.

1) How are the police in the novel corrupt, and how does Marlowe perceive that corruption?

2) What kinds of moral corruption does Marlowe face among the people he comes into contact with? How is that moral corruption related to the corruption of the police?

3) How does Marlowe deal with temptations to corruption, such as Kingsley offering him money to cover up a murder?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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