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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 does Clara yell at Nicolaes van Stolk as she departs her house en route to the ball?

2. What advice does the narrator wish had been given to Clara?

3. Who is van Stolk?

4. Why does Clara decline at first to dance with the prince?

5. What happened to the Master's reputation after the ball?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the Epilogue, what does Ruth surmise happened to the greedy van Stolk?

2. During their dance at the ball, what does Iris worry about with regard to Caspar?

3. In the Epilogue, what does Ruth say about the paintings of Iris's that she admires?

4. As the Epilogue concludes, what kind of painting does Ruth say should be painted of Clara's children?

5. What causes the prince to be initially interested in Iris?

6. As they are about to depart for the ball, how does Iris react when Clara promises not to take Caspar from her?

7. While at the ball, what do Iris and the Master decide is more permanent than beauty?

8. What message is the Master trying to convey when he asks, after showing Margarethe his paintings of hideous people, what she knows about charitable stories from the Bible?

9. What does the trail of blood that follows Clara after the ball indicate?

10. What does Ruth have to say about beauty in the Epilogue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A respect for memory -- or the lack thereof -- is a defining characteristic of many of the novel's characters. Choose two characters from Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and compare and contrast, using specific examples, whether the characters have a respect for memory and learn from the past.

Essay Topic 2

While a seemingly small item at the beginning of the text, tulips become critically important by the end of the novel. Discuss what tulips symbolize in the text and how their symbolism changes as the story progresses.

Essay Topic 3

Conventional wisdom dictates that children often end up like one of their parents. Using either Margarethe and Iris OR Henrika and Clara, compare and contrast how each girl grows up to be like and unlike her mother. Make sure to list at least three similarities and three differences, using evidence from the text to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 769 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample