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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. Who does Margot meet one day later than originally scheduled?

2. When does Lucia live?

3. Who does Margot encounter when she changes compartments on the train?

4. What happens to the taxi in which Margot is riding?

5. For what does Margot listen during brief moments of silence?

Short Essay Questions

1. About what does Margot become curious while working at the convent, and what does she learn?

2. Where does Margot end up staying and what does she do on her first morning in Florence?

3. What does Margot's new living quarters remind her of and how does she change that?

4. What did Alessandro do on the day of the November 4th flood?

5. How is Margot spending time during the long plane and train rides?

6. What are Margot's impressions of Professor Eugene Chapin?

7. How does Margot react to the book that the postulants keep over night, and what is Madre Badessa's reaction?

8. Why are two of the postulants in trouble?

9. What does Margot discover about the book that the Abbess gives into Margot's care?

10. Who is Margeaux, and describe a scene that Margeaux is good at.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Sixteen Pleasures could be said to be a "bildungsroman" of Margot. Discuss the following:

1. Define the concepts "bildungsroman" and "coming of age."

2. Thoroughly trace and analyze The Sixteen Pleasures as a bildungsroman of Margot. Give specific examples. What does Margot learn? How has she changed? Is the change for the better?

3. Thoroughly trace and analyze The Sixteen Pleasures as a psychological study. Give specific examples. What is Margot's emotional/psychological state at the beginning of The Sixteen Pleasures? At the end? What would a psychologist say about Margot's actions? Alessandro's actions? Discuss three other characters in addition to Margot and Alessandro in relation to their emotional/psychological characteristics.

Essay Topic 2

Oftentimes, a novel is more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think The Sixteen Pleasures is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 5, when Margot joins some nuns in the library, she, at first, thinks that they need a man with some strength to help take apart the bookshelves that have swelled. The nuns show her how to readjust her thinking to make the task manageable without a man. Discuss the following:

1. There is a proverb of unknown origin that reads, "necessity is the mother of invention." Relate this proverb to the situation in the library and in your own life.

2. It is generally accepted that most men have greater brute strength than most women (but not all by any means). How do you think this fact has impacted gender roles throughout the ages? Discuss thoroughly.

3. Margot, who loves men and finds them very attractive and likes their company, naturally thinks first of getting help from a male when a task needing strength arises. The nuns, on the other hand, who are restricted in their interaction with men, do not even thing in terms of having one come in to do the work that requires strength or courage. Men, on the other hand, tend to think of asking a woman for help when it comes to cooking or sewing or something that requires sensitivity. These statements are generalizations and there are many exceptions, but think of them in terms of general truths. Discuss the following question: How do these type of generalizations (men to women and women to men) tend to perpetuate gender polarization in various cultures. Is it healthy to perpetuate such ideas? Why or why not? Discuss in relation to The Sixteen Pleasures and in relation to your own culture and experiences.

(see the answer keys)

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