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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. How many children does the estate manager have, whom Werther meets?

2. What author does Werther enjoy reading?

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

4. What does the main character find enjoyable about the area he has arrived at in the first letter?

5. Which poet does Werther's new female friend mention in relation to the event which disrupts the large gathering they attend?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Werther's opinion of his aunt?

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

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

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

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

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

7. What does Werther mourn in the letter of May 17, 1771?

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

9. What is the substance of the conversation between Werther and his companions at the vicar's home?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the theme of religion, God, Fate and the divine in the novel. Where, and in which situations, does Werther feel the presence or absence of God? Is there anything overtly, or covertly, religious or spiritual about the novel as a whole? Why does Werther feel, at times, both connected to and disconnected from God? What ambiguities does Werther confront, or ignore, about his passion for Lotte and the sinfulness or morality of it? How does Werther view Fate, and why might having a fated destiny be significant to considerations of the morality of Werther's end? How does Werther view Lotte in religious terms, and why does he seem to do so?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 898 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample