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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. What position has William held before?

3. How does Salvatore speak?

4. What does the abbot express pride in?

5. What do Jorge and William debate in ‘Second Day’?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does William help the Cellarer to find?

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

3. Who does William already know at the abbey in ‘First Day’?

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

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

6. Why is Jorge so unnerving?

7. What does Berengar think he saw in ‘Second Day’?

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

9. What must the men pass through to reach the library at night?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The monks debate Jesus’s laughter at great length. Why is such a seemingly small matter the subject of so much debate? What texts do they rely on to support their theories? What is the greater significance of their debates, and how often do they refer to these issues?

Essay Topic 2

The novel makes reference to various heretical sects, which – indeed – several key characters have belonged to. What is the importance of these sects? How does William treat them? How does he explain them to Adso, and what are Adso’s musings on their significance?

Essay Topic 3

A book is at the heart of the novel. Describe this book and its significance in the story. Why is it important? What does it lead men to do? What commentary might this lead us to about the nature of knowledge, of reading, of literature?

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