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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. Although frequently inspired by what he sees in the country, how does Claude react?

2. How does Bongrand get rid of Naudet when he comes to buy one of his paintings?

3. What does the young woman think about the art she sees in the studio?

4. Who are the late comers for Sandoz's Thursday soiree?

5. Rejected for the Prix de Rome, what is Fagerolles now painting?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Fagerolles manage to get Claude's painting of the Dead Child included in the Salon proper?

2. Describe the difference between Sandoz and Jory as writers.

3. As the character of Claude develops in the novel, what appears to be his greatest fault?

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

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

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

7. How does Zola show the domestic side of Christine?

8. How do praise and laughter demonstrate Claude's personal insecurities at the Salon des Refusés?

9. How does Sandoz know that there is trouble brewing as the group of friends go out after the Salon?

10. How is Sandoz, the one character besides Claude who remains steadfast to the revolt against romanticism, able to remain steadfast to their revolutionary ideas?

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 Claude as Pygmalion. The points in the essay should incorporate the objective way Claude looks at Christine as his nude model and the passion with which he tries to bring the woman in the painting to life. It should point out how Christine seems to fade away as the woman in the painting becomes Claude's passion. His Pygmalion attempts at creating this perfect woman cause even his friends to say that she should come alive so he could make love to her. Express how his obsession begins to make you feel as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay of at least two typed, double-spaced pages on the topic of Belief in the Intelligence of the Public. Point one of the essay should include the various reactions to Claude's Open Air painting. Point two should bring in an example like the reaction of the public to the invention of the airplane. Point three should be a more philosophical evaluation of public opinion in general.

(see the answer keys)

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