The Inquisitor’s Tale

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following themes does the book’s narrative structure most clearly support?

A) Storytelling as unity

B) The dangers of prejudice

C) The existence of miracles

D) The beauty of human differences

2. What is the most reasonable interpretation of the author’s use of modern slang?

A) To demonstrate that language has not changed much over time

B) To poke fun at the characters by making them sound unintelligent

C) To make a distant time and place seem more familiar to the reader

D) To show the level of comfort and familiarity among the characters

3. Which character is the best example of someone who is not what they first seem to be?

A) Jeanne

B) Michelangelo

C) Jacob

D) Blanche

4. Which character has a name that turns out to be ironic?

A) Hubert the Good

B) Gwenforte

C) King Louis

D) Old Teresa

5. What do the villagers’ reactions to Jeanne’s visions, Hubert’s encounter with his friend’s ghost, and the farting dragon all demonstrate?

A) Heresy is often a matter of opinion.

B) Miracles can happen in the real world.

C) Prejudice is a form of injustice.

D) Fear can provoke dangerous actions.

6. What do Brother Bartholomew’s reactions to William’s arguments, Abbot Hubert’s plans for the children and Gwenforte, and the King’s plans for the copies of the Talmud demonstrate?

A) You must understand their motives to judge someone.

B) People in authority can sometimes be unjust.

C) All religions have valuable ideas to contribute and deserve respect.

D) Experience creates a more complex worldview.

7. Which character’s true identity remains a mystery for the longest?

A) Michelangelo’s

B) The narrator’s

C) The nun’s

D) The king’s

8. Which detail best supports the book’s thematic concern with accepting that humans cannot fully understand the ways of God?

A) King Louis kneeling before the children and asking for their blessing

B) The discussion between Michelangelo and the children about martyrdom

C) The discussion between the troubadour Chrétien and Master Bacon about Job

D) The Inquisitor weeping as he realizes he has been wrong about the children

9. Which detail best supports the book’s thematic concern with the abilities and strengths of those kept out of power?

A) Jeanne’s parents tricking the knights into searching the dung heap

B) The ability of the nun to understand events she was not present for

C) The Inquisitor’s skepticism that Michelangelo called the children saints

D) Chrétien’s song about Hadubrand and Hildebrand

10. Which statement is best supported by The Inquisitor’s Tale as a whole?

A) Children are often overlooked as an important source of wisdom.

B) People should value the religious stories of all traditions equally.

C) It is natural for people to want revenge against those who have wronged them.

D) The world is a complex place, full of both suffering and beauty.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why is it so important to the children to save the copies of the Talmud?

2. Why is Gwenforte the first to rush to the rescue of Blanche de Castile despite also being the first to recognize how terrible Blanche is?