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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 Berengar think he saw in ‘Second Day’?

2. Where is the corpse found in ‘Second Day’?

3. What is William’s nationality?

4. Who used to be a Dolcian?

5. When are Adso and William traveling in ‘First Day’?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the narrator originally lose his copy of the book?

2. Who is the Pope at the time of the events in the novel?

3. Why is Adso allowed to sit away from the novices in ‘First Day’?

4. Why is Jorge so unnerving?

5. What two things disappear from Venantius’s desk in ‘Second Day’?

6. Where did Adso meet William?

7. What is William’s first conclusion about Adso’s death?

8. Where did the narrator find confirmation of the book’s veracity?

9. What is William’s mission at the abbey?

10. How does Adso feel about ‘modern’ life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ubertino flees the abbey when the two rival factions arrive. Why is this the case? What does he fear losing? What might he gain by leaving? How does this tie in with larger political threads of the story?

Essay Topic 2

The abbey is organized according to strict power hierarchies. What are these hierarchies? How can characters move among them? What kind of actions, and feelings, do these hierarchies provoke? In what ways are they positive? Dangerous?

Essay Topic 3

A variety of languages, from Provençal to English to Latin, are used throughout the book. What is the significance of language in the novel? How do the “Italians” separate themselves from the others, and why is this important? How might reading this text in translation help us? Why did Eco not translate certain parts of French, Latin, and other languages found in the text?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 450 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample