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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. Who is Don Ciccio?

2. How many men besides the Prince are allowed to enter the convent?

3. What is Garibaldi doing as the Prince eats lunch and takes a nap?

4. How does Pirrone react when he interrupts the Prince?

5. How is the Prince feeling when he arrives at his estate in the first part of Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Prince doing as Pirrone interrupts him in Chapter 2, Part 2, and how does Pirrone react?

2. How does the family know the Prince is upset at dinner and what announcement does he make?

3. What is the conversation between Pirrone and the Prince about in Chapter 1, Part 2?

4. What is the Plebiscite of Unification, and how does the Prince vote on it?

5. What is the news that Pirrone brings to the Prince?

6. What does the Prince think about a marriage of Tancredi and Concetta and how does he respond to Pirrone?

7. What letter does the Prince receive at the end of Chapter 1, Part 2, and what is his response to it?

8. What is the reasoning used by Tancredi to justify his desire to marry Angelica in his letters to the Prince?

9. How is the Prince compromising parts of his life, and what analogy is made for his situation in Chapter 3, Part 1?

10. How is the trip to Donnafugata described and what do the cicadas represent?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Prince's nephew, Tancredi, is a complex character that undergoes a great deal of change during the course of the story.

1) Describe the positions Tancredi takes on the revolution, how they change, and why his life influences them.

2) Explain how Tancredi's character both represents and contradicts the main theme of the story, which is inevitable change.

3) Compare Tancredi with the Prince in terms of how they both perceive the family's status and the changes that threaten it.

Essay Topic 2

The author uses some of the chapters in the novel to bridge gaps of time between them. Analyze the decision to exclude the description of significant events as they happen (the revolution, the deaths of key characters, etc.) and why they are instead summarized in the subsequent chapters. Also, explain which are the largest gaps in time that occur and what you think the author's intentions are in using this technique.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the cities of Palermo and Donnafugata. Describe each town and its citizens as well as the Prince's position in them. Also, include examples of the effects that the revolution has on both cities, and the differences or similarities they have with the way the Prince changes.

(see the answer keys)

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