View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who comprises the communal life with Henry?

2. What price is extracted from Henry for his meals at the Cronstadts?

3. In Henry's fantasy about Fanny, what is happening to her?

4. Normally a slob, how does Nanantatee change after Henry moves in?

5. Why is Serge happy to meet Henry?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Henry describe the book on which he is working?

2. What does Elsa say bout the Englishman upstairs playing Bach?

3. What does Henry say about his escape from Serge?

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

5. How does Henry see the American women at the Cafe de la Paix or the Ritz Bar?

6. How does Henry use sarcasm in describing Nanantatee's lavish apartment?

7. Why does Henry leave the apartment when Boris sits down to eat?

8. Why is Henry so generous with his praise of the prostitute Germaine?

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

10. What lie does Henry tell the Cronstadts when they invite him to join their meal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Henry briefly experiences the Bohemian lifestyle. Write a paper about communal living that was popular in America during the 1960s and early 1970s, often called the Hippie generation lifestyle. Discuss whether you think such an arrangement ever really works.

Essay Topic 2

Using the young Hindu cleric and the escapade in the Eglise Ste.-Clotilde, write a paper expressing how you see Miller's opinion of religion. Do you notice any inconsistency in how Miller treats religion?

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on whether you think Henry Miller accomplished what he set out to do with this novel. Refer back to passages in the book where he talks about what literature should be. Is he justified in writing honestly about the way men and women actually view their sexuality?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 594 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample