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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Chaîne working on while the others visit in Mahoudeau's studio?
(a) a portrait of Mathilde.
(b) a wood carving of a squirrel.
(c) a picture of the old stove in the studio.
(d) cooking a pot of beans.

2. What does the lusty Jory like about Mahoudeau's sculpture of the Grape Picker?
(a) her ample bosom and thick thighs.
(b) the amount of clay used in the mold.
(c) the life-like look of her face.
(d) her feet and hands.

3. When does Claude finally break down and admit his hurt and disappointment?
(a) when he is alone with Sandoz.
(b) when Bongrand tries to cheer him up.
(c) when a small child begins to laugh at the painting.
(d) when he returns home and finds Christine there.

4. What does Claude recognize about the group that still comes together for the Thursday night soirees?
(a) that it has more power than before.
(b) that they are really helping each other now.
(c) that it is deteriorating, except for Sandoz.
(d) that everyone is a success except him.

5. Why were girls not allowed in their group of friends back in the village?
(a) because of their dislike of girls.
(b) because they were in an all boys school.
(c) because of their shyness.
(d) because they slept on the ground overnight.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the young men of the Open Air movement see themselves?

2. Who is the friend now enrolled at the Beaux-Arts?

3. What does Christine do just before the deadline to enter a painting at the Salon?

4. Who do Claude, Pierre, and Jory find sitting at a table making sketches with drops of beer?

5. Because it is Thursday, what event will take place in the evening?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Claude attempt to make Christine happy once again?

2. Why is Claude told not to bring Christine to the Thursday night gatherings?

3. What is Claude's goal for gaining acceptance of his art?

4. How does the behavior of Dubuche foreshadow the deterioration of the Open Air group of young Bohemian artists?

5. In what way does the reader understand that Claude is first and foremost an artist?

6. How is history repeated with Claude and his huge canvas?

7. How has Fagerolles become swallowed up by the commercial world of art?

8. Describe the mood at the beginning of the novel.

9. What is the pathos of Claude's funeral?

10. Describe the irony when Christine finally agrees to walk with Claude in public.

(see the answer keys)

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