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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. With whom does Nella have an altercation when she is following Otto and goes into the church?

2. Who helps Nella look for Peebo in the streets?

3. Within what experience does Marin say people's truest selves are found?

4. What reason does Marin give Nella when she tells Nella not to follow Johannes to the Stadhuis?

5. What does Marin say about hope when she and Nella are discussing Johannes's dire situation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How much does Nella obtain for the sugar in Part Four: "The Hopeful Loaf"? What are her intentions with the profits?

2. What does Johannes mean when he says that he has married a child and that he has done it for Marin?

3. When Nella receives eight dolls from the miniaturist, what two items is the doll made in her own likeness holding in its tiny hands? What is the significance of each item?

4. How does the destruction of the gingerbread families act as an element of foreshadowing?

5. What has changed about Marin's doll in Part Three: "No Anchor"? What does this foreshadow?

6. Why do Nella and Marin argue in Part Four: “Verkeerspel"?

7. What is the implication of Jack's charge against Johannes in Part Three: "Horseshoe"?

8. How do Nella's feelings about privacy change over time within the Brandt household?

9. What does Nella do as a sign of goodwill toward Johannes when he leaves for Venice and what is his reaction?

10. What admissions does Marin make to Nella in Part Three: “Hidden Bodies"?

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 methods of characterization used by the author to serve as vehicles for the novel's humanist messages.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how and why the author instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of The Miniaturist.

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