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The American
Henry James
Study Guide
Summary
Plot Overview
Summary & Analysis
Chapters 1–2
Chapter 3
Chapters 4–5
Chapters 6–7
Chapters 8–9
Chapters 10–11
Chapter 12
Chapters 13–14
Chapters 15–16
Chapters 17–18
Chapters 19–20
Chapters 21–22
Chapters 23–24
Chapters 25–26
Characters
Character List
Christopher Newman
Valentin de Bellegarde
Noémie Nioche
Main Ideas
Themes
Motifs
Symbols
Key Facts
Quotes
Important Quotations Explained
Further Study
Context
Full Book Quiz
Study Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Writing Help
How to Write Literary Analysis
Suggested Essay Topics
How to Cite This SparkNote
Full Book Quiz
Further study
Full Book Quiz
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1. How did the Marquis de Bellegarde die?
He had a heart attack after eating too much foie gras
He was murdered by compatriots of the Duchess
He committed suicide
He was murdered by his wife and eldest son
2. How does Newman first hear of Claire de Cintré?
He meets her in the Salon de Carré of the Louvre
He meets her at Madame de Bellegarde's ball
Mrs. Tristram introduces her to him
She responds to his personal ad
3. Newman's relationship to Mrs. Tristram is best described as:
A friendship
An affair
A duel
Mutual disinterest
4. Which of the following best exemplifies the paradox of Tom Tristram's relationship to America?
He fought in the Civil War but has since renounced his citizenship
He is raising his children in France but insists that they speak English at home
He spends all his time hanging out with Americans at the Occidental Club, yet constantly derides America in front of Newman
He married a Frenchwoman but is deeply in love with an American
5. When Newman decides to expose the Bellegardes' secret, he first pays a visit to:
Valentin de Bellegarde
Claire de Cintré
Noémie Nioche
The Duchess
6. Newman's proof of the Marquise's misdeed is:
The testament of Mrs. Bread
An accusatory note the Marquis wrote just before dying
The testament of the country doctor
His own eyewitness testimony
7. Which man ultimately falls for Noémie Nioche affections?
Christopher Newman
Urbain de Bellegarde
Monsieur Nioche
Lord Deepmere
8. Over what or whom do Valentin and Stanislas Kapp duel?
Noémie Nioche
Claire's honor
Christopher Newman
A university rivalry
9. What drastic action does Claire take when her marriage to Newman is effectively prevented?
She commits suicide
She elopes with him
She becomes a Carmelite nun
She publicly reveals the truth of her father's murder
10. What does the young Marquise ask Newman to secretly do when she sees him during the performance of
Don Giovanni?
Make love to her
Elope with Claire
Take her to the Bal des Bulliers in the Quartier Latin
Leave the cursed family before it is too late
11. How do Tom Tristram and Newman meet?
They had known each other in the Civil War, and by chance run into each other years later at the Louvre as the novel begins
They are introduced by a mutual friend, the Marquise de Bellegarde
They meet while smoking cigars at the Occidental Club
They had both once been rivals for the hand of the woman who became Mrs. Tristram
12. What eventually happens to the Marquis' note?
Newman throws it into Mrs. Tristram's fireplace
Newman flushes it down Noémie Nioche's toilet
Newman has it published in
Le Monde
Newman sends it by special envoy to Claire in her cloister
13. Who is Mrs. Bread?
A townsperson of Fleurières who secretly witnessed the Bellegarde murder
An English servant of Madame de Bellegarde who effectively raised Valentin and Claire
A Parisian woman who was secretly in love with the Marquis de Bellegarde
Mrs. Tristram's maternal aunt
14. Which of the following best describes Newman's childhood?
He grew up affluent, the son of a Manhattan banker
He grew up extremely poor in rural Alaska and spent his childhood trapping bears
His parents died when he was young, leaving him to fend for himself working odd jobs at fourteen
He grew up on a farm in the Midwest and went east in his early twenties to make a fortune
15. How did Newman make his money?
In a wide variety of trades, from washtubs to rubber
Solely on the stock market
From an inheritance
In international shipping
16. What is the Bellegardes' fundamental objection to their daughter marrying Newman?
He is not as rich as they had hoped
He is a commercial person
He is neither well dressed nor well spoken
He does not seem to make her happy
17. How does Noémie respond to the news that a duel will take place over her?
She is thrilled, knowing that this event will increase her social standing
She is deeply saddened by the senseless loss of life the duel will entail
She is sorry she is a girl, and thus cannot defend her own honor
She is never actually told about the duel
18. Newman thinks that Noémie has spent her life trying to become a woman like:
Claire de Cintré
The young Marquise de Bellegarde
Mrs. Tristram
Newman's sister
19. How does Newman offer to help Noémie make her place in the world?
He offers to introduce her to Tom Tristram
He offers to marry her
He offers to allow her to earn her dowry by painting pictures for him
He offers to duel Valentin for her
20. Which best describes the engagement between Newman and Claire?
The Bellegardes break with Newman before he has had a chance to ask for Claire's hand
Claire accepts Newman's offer of marriage, but her family forces her to revoke it before they can get married
Claire and Newman manage to marry in secret, but Claire's family forces them to obtain a divorce
Claire and Newman plan a wedding, but are waylaid en route to the church by Urbain's henchmen
21. Newman's plan to woo Claire de Cintré is aided by the critical support of which member of the Bellegarde family?
Valentin de Bellegarde
The Marquise de Bellegarde
Urbain de Bellegarde
The young Marquise de Bellegarde, Urbain's wife
22. How does Valentin respond to the news that his family has prevented Claire from marrying Newman?
He consoles Newman to accept the inevitable
He is saddened but realizes he can do nothing
He apologizes for his family on his deathbed
He is secretly pleased
23. Who is Lord Deepmere?
A very rich, distant cousin of the Bellegardes
An unknown aristocrat from the south of France
An old hunting companion of Tom Tristram's
A superlative American
24. How does Valentin help to orchestrate Newman's revenge?
He tells Newman of a skeleton in the Bellegarde family closet
He gives Newman a pistol and the key to Urbain's bedchamber
He gives Newman a letter written by his father, implicating the Marquise in murder
He gives Newman the address of the Duchess, and advises him to seek her help
25. What is the eventual success of Newman's revenge?
He manages to publicly shame the Bellegardes, leading to their expulsion from the country
He manages to implicate Madame de Bellegarde in murder and have her sent to prison
He attempts to expose the Bellegardes but is unable to convince their friends that they have done wrong
He finally decides that he wants no revenge, and destroys his evidence
26. Newman's sudden revelation in the course of his revenge against the Bellegardes is best compared to:
His sudden revelation in London that he loved Claire
His sudden revelation at the Tristrams' dinner party that Tom and Mrs. Tristram were unhappy
His sudden revelation a year earlier in New York that he did not want revenge on his business competitor
His sudden revelation during his summer of European travel that neither of his traveling companions really understood him
27. What poignant reason does Claire give for breaking off the engagement with Newman?
She has no right to be happy when others have so suffered
She hates Newman
She promised God ten years ago that she would become a nun
She cannot marry someone who loves her brother so dearly
Previous section
Context
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Study Questions
The American: Popular pages
CHARACTERS
Character List
CHARACTERS
Christopher Newman: Character Analysis
MAIN IDEAS
Important Quotations Explained
MAIN IDEAS
Themes
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