Mid-Book Test - Hard
|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Antoinette wish?
2. What does Antoinette do under the influence of morphine?
3. What does Thérèse do as she walks through the house?
4. When the two girls go downstairs, what do they find?
5. Why has Thérèse come to the farmhouse?
Short Essay Questions
1. In the chapter, "The Oranges," what problem do you think Léonie is really trying to resolve when she is juggling the oranges or thinking of the magpies?
2. How does Léonie symbolically enter the adult world in the chapter titled "The Ironing Board"?
3. What do you think the wind Léonie feels means?
4. How is the occupation of the Germans described in "The Carpets"?
5. The chapter titled, "The Water Bottle" is dense with imagery. Identify two of the images and what they might represent.
6. Describe how the church is decorated for the upcoming festival and what is perhaps a bit odd about that.
7. Describe Thérèse's first tour of the house as shown in "The Buffet." What is ironic about one of her thoughts?
8. To what do you think Léonie's dream in "The Red Suitcase," is related and of what do you think the suitcase is symbolic?
9. What is the memory that Léonie intuits?
10. What in the chapter, "The Recipe Book," suggests that prejudice still exists against the Jews?
Essay Topic 1
There are many statements throughout this novel about church, Jesus, Christianity, and in particular, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Additionally, reference is made about Jews, though the Jewish religion is not mentioned too much. Choose one of the following questions and write a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. Take three characters and trace their references to religion throughout the novel. Evaluate how strongly each character feels about his/her spiritual life and what each believes. Be sure to cite specific examples to support your statements.
2. Compare and contrast the way the main characters and the village people view Christianity versus Judaism and Christians versus Jews. Be sure to cite specific examples to support your statements.
3. Is this novel about religion and spirituality? If references to religious ideas and beliefs were removed, how substantially would the novel be impacted? Discuss using specific examples.
Essay Topic 2
In chapter 6, ThÃ©rÃ¨se and LÃ©onie have a meal together. LÃ©onie takes special care in setting the table and choosing the menu. Choose one of the following questions and write a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. Follow the thread of food and eating that occurs throughout the novel, giving examples of that theme and an interpretation of the examples you choose.
2. Food is essential to the continuation of life, and thus is often offered symbolically as well as concretely in many cultures. Compare and contrast the symbolism of food in several diverse cultures.
3. Discuss how food is treated in advertisements in the country in which you live, including billboard advertisements, magazines, t.v., and radio. What is the main purpose of the advertisements? Are they successful? Do they sway you?
Essay Topic 3
In chapter 8, LÃ©onie says she will kill ThÃ©rÃ¨se if she brings up anything else about the past. Each woman remembers the past differently. Memory is a tricky thing, and often several people who witness the same event will later relate the details differently. . Answer the following questions in a well-developed essay using examples from the book as well as personal experience:
1. How do ThÃ©rÃ¨se and LÃ©onie's memories differ about their childhood as they are back together as adults? Give specific examples.
2. Have you ever recounted an event in your life only to have a parent, sibling or other person say "that's not at all how it happened"? How did you feel about being challenged/corrected? Do you think your memory of the past is reliable? Why or why not.
3. When you think about your very young childhood, how many of your memories do you think you actually recall and how many of them are events that an adult related to you and you have incorporated into your own set of memories? Discuss a couple of those and evaluate them for accuracy.
This section contains 1,366 words
(approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page)