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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 do the men do when they leave Mr. Mnason’s house?

2. How does Matthew heal?

3. What is the group shown as they climb the hill after leaving the Interpreter’s house?

4. Why did the hero from Honest's story have a problem on the journey?

5. What does Great Heart do as the group continues on its journey after the inn?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to ease the mind of the latest group member and what does Great Heart do after the group sets forth following James’ wedding?

2. What happens to the group shortly after leaving Vanity?

3. What happens to the group in the morning at the Interpreter’s house and what does he do before the group leaves? Where are they going next?

4. How is the group greeted at House Beautiful? What kind of dream does Mercy have?How long does the group stay?

5. What does the group do when it prepares to leave and what is the consequence of that action?

6. What does Honest tell them about Fearing and how does the group feel after hearing that story?

7. Where does the group stop shortly after meeting Honest and what are they told there?

8. Why does Christiana decide to go on a journey?

9. What is on the hill that commemorates something, and what does it commemorate?

10. What do the men of the group do? Who marries James? Who marries Matthew?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following regarding the character dynamics in The Pilgrim's Progress:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why? Use examples from The Pilgrim’s Progress to support your answer.

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which three secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot? What roles to they play in the development of the story?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable? If so, which ones? If not, what do you think this says about the work?

Essay Topic 2

The Pilgrim’s Progress belongs to the religious allegory genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give examples of three other genres in addition to the religious allegory genre.

2. What are other examples of religious allegories? In what ways to they compare with The Pilgrim's Progress?

3. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre. How does this apply to The Pilgrim's Progress?

3. What are the key differences between a religious allegory and a historical novel or a mystery novel?

Essay Topic 3

The female pilgrims find the path changed from when Christian walked it. The first set of bad characters, Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, are not there to tempt the pilgrims. Instead, they have been punished and made into a warning. Again, the female pilgrims are guided and told of the clear wrongs of these characters.

1. Do you think women and men react to moral decisions differently? Why or why not? Use examples from the novel to support your answer.

2. Some of the punishments dealt out in The Pilgrim’s Progress are quite harsh. Discuss the differences in the legal systems of today versus in the 1600s. How have the forms of punishment changed?

3. Do you think if a person is always told exactly what to do that might hinder the person from developing a moral fortitude? Why or why not? How is this idea explored in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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