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 is NOT a symptom of her father's dwindling financial status listed by Nella?

2. What is NOT an expectation of life in the Brandt household that Nella says she would do anything to remove from her head?

3. What does Marin say that her society does to homosexuals like Johannes?

4. When Nella gets back to her room after her first kiss with Johannes, what does she do?

5. What is the main difference Nella sees between the maids back in Assendelft and Cornelia?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does Nella decide to visit Johannes at his work?

2. What is Otto's history?

3. Describe Nella's first kiss with Johannes.

4. What is the significance of Nella's lute performance during the Meermans' visit?

5. How do Nella's expectations of Marin's reaction differ from Marin's real reaction when Nella tells her about Johannes's homosexuality?

6. How does Marin hurt Nella physically and why?

7. For what reason does Marin always insist on taking the Brandt household's dogs to church?

8. What are the circumstances of Nella's arrival at the Brandt house that are troubling to her?

9. What is Nella's mother's reply when Nella says she does not want to be the kind of wife that behaves as the "rams and ewes of Assendelft" (26) do?

10. What does Nella's parakeet Peebo symbolize?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's choice to tell the story of The Miniaturist using the third-person omniscient point of view. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are the author's intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the many instances of irony within the novel's narrative and analyze the author's purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of the novel and one of the novel's main messages. How does the author make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help the author get across one main message of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,199 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample