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. What does Mary learn from her lawyer?

2. What does Mary encounter on her way home?

3. From what does Mary try to save Matthew?

4. How does Mary respond to Edgar's question?

5. Where does Rowley suggest Mary and he go that night?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Karl present himself?

2. What are the topics of conversation between Rowley and Mary?

3. How does Edgar bring up the subject of marriage to Mary?

4. What does Mary point out about Rowley's reputation and what is his response?

5. What does Mary say about why she marries Matthew Panton?

6. Why does Rowley propose to Mary and how does she respond?

7. How does Rowley find the handgun in Mary's purse and how does that change the conversation?

8. How has Mary been spending her time lately and what bearing does that have to do with Mary being at the villa?

9. What does Mary think about Edgar's job prospects?

10. How does Mary begin to respond to Matthew's drinking?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation whereby Mary thinks she is being good to Karl when he kills himself because of her actions. Find two other incidences of irony in Up at the Villa and discuss them.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use of and meaning of five symbols found in Up at the Villa.

3. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in literature. What is the purpose of foreshadowing? Cite three examples of foreshadowing and how it is used to indicate events to come in Up at the Villa.

Essay Topic 2

W. Somerset Maugham was quite a prolific writer and lead a somewhat unconventional life for the times. Discuss the following:

1. Research and write an informative essay about the life of W. Somerset Maugham.

2. In what ways do Maugham's beliefs seem to be reflected in Up at the Villa?

3. Do you think Maugham is more like Swift or Flint? Explain your answer with examples from your research and the text.

4. How much of an author's personality do you think is reflected in his/her writing? Can an author keep him/herself completely out of the text? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

Setting as far as place and time play an important role in Up at the Villa, if compared to twenty-first century's social mores. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast several aspects of the setting of that day from how it would be today. Consider things such as cultural norms/expectations, technology, religion and medicine.

2. Do you think Up at the Villa would be different if it were set in the United States of America in that same era? Consider particularly class issues.

3. What issues that are present in the time of Up at the Villa would still be issues today? What would no longer be issues? Consider such things as class, women's roles, sexual freedom, propriety and manners, and integrity.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,061 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample