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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. When did the narrator receive the manuscript?

2. Whom did William consider his master?

3. In the Preface, what language is the current narrator writing in?

4. What is William’s nationality?

5. What position has William held before?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why is Jorge so unnerving?

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

4. How does Salvatore speak?

5. What do the monks debate at the first dinner?

6. What does William help the Cellarer to find?

7. Who, in ‘Second Day,’ reveals that the library is a labyrinth?

8. When does Adso write his manuscript?

9. Where did Adso meet William?

10. Who is the Emperor at the time of the events in the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The physical buildings of the abbey are described in great detail, and shown to be resplendent. Eco even includes two maps of various structures. What literary significance do the buildings themselves have? How do they affect the story? Focus particularly on the library itself, as well as the ensuing fire.

Essay Topic 2

The Judgment Day, the Apocalypse, and the Antichrist are frequent references throughout the novel. Why might these be significant? Are they truly the clue to the mysteries and murders taking place? If not, why might Eco have chosen to discuss them in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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