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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 instrument does Lotte play, as related in the letter of December 4?

2. What is the surprise Werther receives from Lotte and Albert in the letter of February 20?

3. What irritates Werther about Lotte and the friend who visits her in the letter of October 26?

4. What aspect of humanity does Werther assert, in the letter of October 26, makes him want to "tear his heart open"?

5. What action does Werther take upon confirming the alarming news he heard at Lotte's home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What correspondence does Werther receive from a government minister, as related in the letter of February 17, and how does Werther react to the correspondence?

2. What does Werther see as the keys to happiness, and how do these key things affect him specifically, as related in the letter of October 20?

3. What does Werther do during the flood of the river near Wahlheim, and why is this episode significant?

4. What news does Werther receive from Albert and Lotte in the letter dated February 20, and how does Werther respond to the news?

5. Describe the Prince and why Werther is involved with him.

6. What are Werther's general views on religion, as expressed in several letters?

7. How does Werther react to inadvertently catching a glimpse of Lotte's wedding ring, as related in the letter of December 4?

8. How does Miss von B. respond to Werther's humiliation, as related in the letter of March 16?

9. How do Werther's personality and his thoughts change upon returning to Wahlheim?

10. Summarize Werther's thoughts on the relationship between contentment and reason, as expressed in the letter of November 30.

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

Discuss the form of the novel: a confessional, epistolary novel. Describe the genres of the epistolary novel and the confessional novel. How do these forms work together in this particular novel? Describe the structure of the novel: how many narrative voices are there? What is the chronological structure of the novel? Are there any aspects of the novel's form or structure that seem out of place or that fit differently into the entire structure than the rest of the book? How does the texture, tone, and focus of the novel change as Werther's mental and emotional state becomes more agitated?

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