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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. What does Claude do the next morning as the young woman sleeps?

2. Why does Irma become angry with Claude during a visit to his studio?

3. Why does Christine resist sightseeing in Paris with Claude?

4. What reawakens in Claude and Sandoz with their renewed friendship?

5. Why is Christine able to come to Paris from Passy?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Christine and Claude react differently to tragedy?

2. Describe Claude's behavior after the Salon.

3. Discuss Claude's conversations with Christine that show he is more and more dissatisfied.

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

5. What is Claude's behavior after a party at Sandoz's house that alarms Christine?

6. How does Zola show that the young woman is a proper young lady and not a trollop as Claude suspects?

7. Describe the friendship between Claude, Sandoz, and Dubuche.

8. Why does Christine turn to Sandoz to help pull Claude out of one of his depressions?

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

10. How is the decision made to return to Paris?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on the topic of How Sandoz and Claude See Chaîne Differently. Using the passage where they meet Chaîne at the carnival, explain how and why Sandoz sees Chaîne in a completely different light from the way Claude sees him. Explain why Sandoz sees so much clearer than Claude does.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on the topic of Foreshadowing Claude's Death. In Chapter 11, there are passages where Sandoz fears for Claude's life, Christine has a "dread she dared not put into words," and Claude recognizes "desire hovering on the brink of blissful death." With those as the main points of the essay, write about what each of them means as a foreshadowing.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on the topic of Getting to the Top. Using Bongrand as an authority, the essay should center on his statement that the "greatest satisfaction was not being at the top, but in getting there." The essay may also include more modern examples of more modern celebrities who rose to the top of their fields only to end up in obscurity.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,030 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample