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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 main character's name?

2. What of old Count von M.'s does the main character praise for its pleasurable effect?

3. How does Werther see the story of the person near the plow in the town square?

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. How does Werther perceive his relation to the commoners of the village?

2. What event has incited Werther to leave his friends, and how does he view this event?

3. What does Werther find to be the general causes of frustration in business dealings?

4. How has Werther's life or attitudes changed after falling in love with Lotte?

5. What are Lotte's views on books and reading?

6. What does Werther ask his friend Wilhelm not to do, and why?

7. What "worthy man" has Werther gotten to know, and where does he live?

8. How does Werther initially feel about Albert?

9. What does Werther observe the local girls doing?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the little peasant family that Werther meets in Wahlheim and subsequently gets to know: the mother and her several children, including Hans. What is the little family's story? What attracts them to Werther? How does he interact with them? How is his relationship with them symbolic of a relationship between social classes at large? What might the symbolism be when their inheritance falls through, and when Hans dies? What is the effect of their tragedy on Werther? What about their fate of poverty is significant to the major themes of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Trace the foreshadowing of suicide and death throughout the novel. Using at least four examples from all through the text, examine the progression of Werther's mania and depression to its culmination. In what sorts of situations does Werther refer to suicide? What kinds of emotions or thoughts does he experience in these situations? Is there a common thread running among these experiences of his? How do the opinions of others, and Werther's interactions with them, influence his thoughts and ultimately his final decision?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the symbolism and importance of clothing in the novel. Focus on the letters of July 8, 1771; August 28, 1771; and September 6, 1772. What articles of clothing does Werther have a disproportionate focus on? What might these articles of clothing symbolize, for Werther as well as for the reader? How does Goethe use them as talismans in the novel--what power do they have? Additionally, what do these articles of clothing conceal, or what might they stand in for?

(see the answer keys)

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