View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mr. Joyboy say puts a smile on his face?

2. What does Mr. Schultz say he needs from Dennis more than good ideas?

3. What does Dennis hear in the room where he is led?

4. What did Sir Francis once work as?

5. How does Sir Francis have to get to work?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Aimée think of Mr. Joyboy's work?

2. Why is Mr. Schultz displeased with Dennis and how does Dennis try to convince Mr. Schultz to feel otherwise?

3. What racist question does the secretary ask Dennis and how does he respond?

4. What does Aimée reveal about herself when she encounters Dennis on the island?

5. What does Sir Ambrose ask of Dennis and what does Dennis find out about Sir Francis as a writer?

6. What does Mr. Joyboy say about working on infants?

7. What does Sir Francis Hinsley say about Americans?

8. What does Aimée do to Sir Francis?

9. About what does the author warn readers?

10. What are the English expatriates talking about at the cricket club?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Waugh's sardonic take on the overwrought rituals of death in America intensifies in this chapter, as Dennis visits the prepared corpse of Sir Francis at Whispering Glades. Amid a profusion of flowers that itself seems cloying, the cricketing trophy reposes like a bad joke, as if the thing of principal value in this man's life was a social game. The Slumber Room is another tasteless touch, with its intimation that people should think of the corpse as merely having a nap.

1. Discuss the various rituals most Americans up hold around the event of the death of a loved one. Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

2. Do you think the rituals surrounding death in America are dysfunctional? Why or why not? Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss various reasons you can see behind the rituals of death in America and the hiding away of dying people. Use examples from The Loved One and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of The Loved One, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements in The Loved One. (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think The Loved One is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,071 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample