ANSWER KEY AND COMMENTS TO
COMPREHENSION TEST FOR EVER AFTER
Correct answers are in bold. This test assumes that the information described in the Helpful Background section of the Learning Guide was imparted to the class. Omit questions relating to any matters not covered. This test is designed to reprise the material presented in the lecture so that the students will be more likely to remember it.
Grading the test with the class is an excellent opportunity for learning. One alternative is to distribute the completed tests randomly among students for grading in class. Instruct students not to tell whose paper they are grading. When going over the answers with the class discuss the correct answers. Comment as well on what is incorrect about answers that are followed by a blue italicized comment on this answer key.
Questions # 7, 11 - 16, 19 – 21, and 23 are checks to see if the students have watched the movie. It might be a good idea to allow students to get five of these 11 questions incorrect without counting off on their grade.
1) Who are the Gypsies?
A. A 60s rock band
B. An ancient nomadic tribe originally from India that has existed in Europe for centuries
C. Street performers who often are pick pockets -- This is the stereotype about Gypsies that existed in Europe. They still suffer from this prejudice. In the past many Gypsies were street performers and fortune tellers. Because they were denied other occupations, some turned to crime. The Gypsies were never accepted in European society. During the Holocaust (1939 – 1945), the Nazis not only tried to annihilate their political opponents and the Jews, they targeted the Gypsy community as well.
D. 16th century French highway robbers
2) Why did Danielle want her stepmother to love her?
A. The stepmother had loved Danielle’s father -- This is a possible correct answer, although item C is better.
B. The stepmother was a nice person
C. The stepmother was the only mother Danielle had ever known
D. Danielle was jealous of Marguerite and Jacqueline
E. Items A, B, and C -- B is clearly incorrect.
3) What childhood concern does the Cinderella fairy tale help children deal with?
A. Fear that their parents will not be able to provide for them and will abandon them – This is one of the childhood concerns dealt with in Hansel and Gretel.
B. Fear that their parents will die or disappear and they will be raised by an uncaring substitute parent
C. Fascination with the exciting world outside home but concern about whether they can survive and do well in that world -- This is one of the childhood concerns dealt with in The Wizard of Oz.
D. A young girl’s fear of sexual maturity – This is one of the childhood concerns dealt with in Sleeping Beauty.
4) In the classic Cinderella story there is a Fairy Godmother who appears and saves Cinderella. What is the importance of this element of the story?
A. An acknowledgment that there really are Fairy Godmothers but they have gone into hiding in the modern world
B. It is an affirmation that the universe is friendly and will ultimately take care of the child – The view of the universe as friendly is an important thought for young children to have. Santa Claus serves the same purpose. Talk to the class about how this type of magical thinking is something that is okay in little children, for whom fairy tales are designed, but it is very dangerous for older children and adults. Three examples of magical thinking that can lead to disastrous results are: 1) a girl won’t get pregnant if she has unprotected sex; 2) you won’t get AIDs even if you have unprotected high risk sex; and 3) a person can drive after a few drinks and no one will get hurt. Sometimes people can initially escape the consequences of risky behavior but eventually the law of averages will catch up with them and cause a serious, irreversible problem.
C. Delusional thinking
D. Rationalization
5) A utopia is:
A. An energy drink with ginseng and vitamins
B. A marriage contract for royalty
C. A tree found in European forests
D. A perfect place or society; a paradise
6) Utopia was written by:
A. Leonardo da Vinci
B. Sir Thomas More
C. King Henry VIII of England -- This answer is not so far fetched. Henry VIII was an accomplished author and wrote poetry. Before his split with the Papacy he authored a famous tract attacking Martin Luther.
D. The Brothers Grimm -- They collected and adapted German fairy and folk tales, including a version of Cinderella. They are shown in the frame story talking to a descendent of Danielle and Henry.
7) When Henry told Danielle he would be lenient with her he meant:
A. He would go easy on her, show mercy -- When kings and princes ruled countries it was a crime to throw something at a prince, even if he was stealing your horse.
B. He would put a lien or a mortgage on her manor house – Putting a lien on someone’s house means that an obligation to pay a debt is registered against the property and it cannot be sold without first paying the debt. This alternative choice is a play on words. This is a partial homonym with the first syllable of lenient (meaning to be indulgent or merciful), but they are different words with different meanings.
C. He would depend on her for guidance
D. He would not force her to marry him
8) The Queen told Henry that he could only get a divorce in one country. Which country was she referring to?
A. Spain
B. France
C. England -- This reference could only be to the annulments to several of the marriages of King Henry VIII of England (1491 – 1547). Henry VIII thought that he needed sons to secure a peaceful transfer of power after his death. Before Henry’s reign the country had been racked by decades of civil war and instability with several aristocratic houses competing for the throne. It was important to all Englishmen that this not be repeated. A male heir to the throne was thought to be necessary to prevent a recurrence of civil war.
King Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. She bore Henry VIII a daughter, Mary, and she had several other pregnancies in which male children were stillborn or died in infancy. When Catherine became too old to have children, Henry sought a Papal annulment of the marriage. Catherine objected. Her nephew was the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. He was against Henry’s plan to supplant his aunt and take a new wife. The Pope was politically dependent upon Charles V and therefore refused Henry’s request. At the same time the Reformation was gaining strength in England and some of its adherents were members of Henry’s court. The result was that Henry established the Church of England with himself at its head. The connection with Rome was severed and the Pope no longer had authority in England.
The new Church of England granted Henry his annulment and he married a young Protestant member of (former) Queen Catherine’s entourage, Anne Boleyn. At that time, Anne was pregnant with Henry’s child. Henry had high hopes for a male heir, but Anne Boleyn’s child was another girl (Elizabeth). After several miscarriages and having failed to produce a male heir, Anne Boleyn was beheaded on charges of adultery. Most historians believe that the charges were trumped up to get rid of the Queen so that King Henry could marry his new romantic interest, Jane Seymour. His new queen bore Henry the desired male heir but she died two weeks later. Henry wanted more than one male heir to make sure that if his first son died there would be a man to take his place. Henry agreed to marry Anne of Cleves for political reasons before he had met her. When they met, he found her totally unattractive. Perhaps with an eye to what had happened to Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves agreed to have the marriage annulled and was given the title of the “King’s Sister”.
Henry VIII then married a young woman named Catherine Howard who really did commit adultery. She was executed. Henry’s last wife was a wealthy widow, who gave him comfort in his old age.
Henry VIII’s son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI, was nine years old when his father died. Edward died when he was only fifteen and Henry’s first daughter, Mary, assumed the throne. She reigned for five years and tried to bring England back to Catholicism. Mary I had so many Protestants burned at the stake for their beliefs that she was called “Bloody Mary”. Mary I died of natural causes and was succeeded by her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth I occupied the throne from 1558 - 1603, some 44 years. During her reign England saw a tremendous growth of its power and influence throughout the world.
The irony is that Henry didn’t need a male heir at all. There was no civil war when either Mary or Elizabeth ascended the throne. There was no need to search for a male heir to avoid civil war. Elizabeth was one of the most successful monarchs to ever rule England.
D. Italy
9) Prince Henry was forced to live inside the “gilded cage” of:
A. The palace dungeon
B. The servant’s quarters
C. A golden pumpkin
D. His pampered but restricted royal life -- Define gilded cage: When someone’s freedom is restricted but they live in luxury – celebrities often live in luxury but cannot walk out of their houses alone.
10) Leonardo da Vinci:
A. Painted the Mona Lisa
B. Designed machines
C. Conceived of a way for people to fly
D. All of the above -- Leonardo was one of the most talented persons who has ever lived. He was the epitome of the “Renaissance Man.”
11) Prince Henry’s marriage with the princess of Spain was arranged to provide:
A. A steady stream of chocolate from the Spanish monks of South America to the French Court
B. A super highway between Spain and France
C. A stable, peaceful alliance between the two countries -- Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was supposed to do the same for England and Spain.
D. Employment for Spanish dressmakers at the French court
12) The stepmother’s threat to “garnish the wages” of one of the servants meant:
A. She would decorate the servant’s paycheck -- One meaning of the word “garnish” is to decorate, especially in relation to food.
B. She would hold back some of the servant’s salary
C. Put the servant’s wages into a saving account until the servant started to behave -- There were no savings accounts in the 16th century.
D. Put the servant’s wages into a retirement account -- There were no retirement accounts in the 16th century.
13) Which married couple in this film had an arranged marriage?
A. The king and queen of France -- Marriages were often arranged in the 1500s.
B. Danielle’s father and the stepmother
C. The servants at the manor
14) Who burned Danielle’s copy of Utopia?
A. The stepmother
B. Marguerite
C. The servants
D. Prince Henry
15) What do you think Danielle’s father died of?
A. Having had to spend the last week with the stepmother
B. The bends
C. Diabetes
D. A heart attack
16) Why did Danielle feel close to her father when she was in a library?
A. They had read books together when he was at home
B. She imagined that he was the hero of each book she read
C. Her father was a librarian
D. She had quiet time to think of him in the library
17) The Renaissance started as a change in the following:
A. Artistic techniques in painting
B. Artistic techniques in sculpture
C. Educational curriculum that stressed learning to read the classics of the ancient Greeks and Romans
D. From a focus on religion to an acknowledgement that secular learning was important
E. All of the above -- Each one of the answers could be correct for changes that occurred during the Renaissance, but it started as a change in curriculum that stressed the classics of Ancient Greece and Rome.
18) Which phrase best describes the Renaissance?
A. It took place between the Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment
B. Like the Protestant Reformation which stressed that people should read the Bible for themselves, the Humanist education of the Renaissance stressed that people should read the ancient Greek and Roman classics themselves
C. The Renaissance was a rebirth of Christian faith
D. The Renaissance was a time of great artistic accomplishment in painting, sculpture and literature
1. All of the above correct
2. Only A, C, and D are correct – “C” is incorrect because the Renaissance was a time when society turned toward more secular pursuits and a secular view of the world. – All of the others are correct. Stress this point in the discussions.
3. Only A, B and D are correct
4. Only A and C are correct
5. Only C and D are correct;
19) Who was the old queen who appeared in the beginning and end of the film?
A. Marguerite
B. Danielle
C. Jacqueline
D. The stepmother
E. Prince Henry’s mother
20) Where were the stepmother and Marguerite sent at the end of the movie?
A. To the Americas
B. To work in the kitchen
C. Back to the manor in disgrace
D. To work in the Royal laundry
E. To work in the fields
21) How did Danielle save Henry’s life?
A. By keeping him from marrying Marguerite, a fate worse than death
B. By stopping the runaway horse