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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 ironic about Henry's getting money from Peckover?

2. Why is Henry always looking for a free meal?

3. Why does Henry say that no one ever dies in Paris?

4. Why does Boris not introduce Henry to the American woman who comes to see the apartment?

5. What surrounds Henry on his walk on the Rue de Buci?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the scene at the beginning of the novel and how does it set up the condition Henry is in while in Paris?

2. In an attempt to get money, what is Henry unable to do?

3. What does Serge promise in lieu of a big Russian meal each day?

4. How did Nanantatee fool Henry and other people when he was in New York?

5. What importance does Henry place on both the past and the future?

6. How does Henry contrast a merry-go-round and the Germans?

7. What does Henry know about Walter Pach?

8. How does Henry define health that he equates with optimism?

9. Why does Henry like eating with the Cronstadts the best?

10. How does Henry see the cheap whores at the corner of Rue Amelot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper about how the French surrealists influenced Miller's work. Use two or three of the surreal dreams or day dreams in the book to illustrate your point. How do some of those passages sound like an early encounter with the Twilight Zone.

Essay Topic 2

Miller addresses the idea of the artist suffering for his or her art. Do some research and and compare Henry's suffering with some other writers and artists who went through difficult times in order to produce masterpieces. You might want to include such people as Edgar Allen Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, Michelangelo, or Edith Piaf in your essay.

Essay Topic 3

Henry discovers Papini and is impressed with his writing. Do some research on Papini and explain what it is about him that Miller so admired. Be sure to mention the slight difference in what Papini said about the artist needing to be alone and what Henry says about the same subject.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 645 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample