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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 is the name of one of the people Werther meets in the town square?

2. What story does the person near the plow in the town square tell Werther?

3. What skill of Werther's is suffering as a result of his negligence?

4. What is the name of the youngest person Werther meets in the town square?

5. What is the substance of the main character's business project at the beginning of the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what type of people does Werther compare those who he thinks are happiest in life, and what is his reasoning for this comparison?

2. What example does Werther give Albert regarding the justifiability of suicide, and why does Werther take the standpoint he does?

3. To what does Werther compare Lotte's influence on him in the letter of July 26, and what the effects of her influence upon him?

4. How does Werther describe his delight in the countryside surrounding Wahlheim?

5. How has his acquaintance with Lotte affected Werther up to and including the letter of July 24?

6. What is the substance of Werther's conversation with the farmer-boy in the town square of Wahlheim?

7. How is Werther first received by the commoners of the village, and how does Werther view their reaction to him?

8. What does Werther observe the local girls doing?

9. What is the substance of Werther and Albert's conversation, as Werther relates it in the letter of August 12?

10. What specific space, which Werther found in his explorations of the town, does he find pleasurable?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the representations of lower-class and upper-class people and society that occur throughout the novel. How does Werther describe upper-class and lower-class people? Could there be any political meaning to Goethe's representations of them, and of Werther's interactions with them, in the text? How does Werther see himself in relation to each portion of society? Offer at least two each of Werther's interactions with upper- and lower-class individuals or groups to explain your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role of Ossian in the novel. Who is Ossian (both ostensibly and actually), and why does Werther place him in such high regard? What effect does reading Ossian have on Werther? How does he relate to the work and its contents? Offer a close-reading of the fragment of Ossian the Editor quotes. Carefully analyze this portion of the text. Pay close attention to word choice, setting, imagery, figurative or metaphorical language, references, and the tone of the passages. How do you interpret this passage based on a close study of the connotations of all of these aspects of the text? What is its overall effect upon the reader? How do you feel this passage relates to Werther's own story, feelings and thoughts? Why might this passage and the subsequent ones which reflect on Colma's situation affect Werther and Lotte so profoundly? How might the voices of Ryno, Alpin, and the narrator of the fragment be interpreted by Werther and Lotte to be the voices of Werther's nearest and dearest friends and acquaintances?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Lotte's character. Include not only her vitals (approximately how old is she, where she lives, what is her family situation, etc.), but also describe her personality, the way she interacts with others, and her relationships with Werther and Albert. Why does she seem to act the way she does? What is the central problem of the text with regards to our being able to formulate her character? How is her character mediated by both Werther and by the Editor, and are there any problems with this mediation that relate to the reliability of our formulation of her character?

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