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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. To what order did Brother William belong?

2. What is stolen from William?

3. When is the narrator now writing, according to the Preface?

4. What do the monks not do between matins and lauds?

5. What will the monks debate in the discussions to take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Benno reveal about Adelmo?

2. Why is Jorge so unnerving?

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

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

5. What does William help the Cellarer to find?

6. What is William fascinated by?

7. How does it look like Venantius died?

8. When does Adso write his manuscript?

9. Where did Adso meet William?

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 book shows two inquisitors, Bernard Gui and William, though he is not acting in this official capacity. How do the two men differ in their approaches? What has William done in the past while conducting inquisitions? How might their methods be the same? Different?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Many people are suspected of murder in the book – and many of these suspects die. Compare and contrast the possible murderers and theories that the story presents, and describe the ultimate outcome, as well as Jorge’s professed motives.

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