Throughout the novel, the physical setting is just as important as the scene that takes place there. Select one scene from the novel and draft an essay in which you examine how specific details of the physical location contribute to the scene’s function in the novel. Avoid mere plot summary.

As the Musketeers become older, some take up other occupations outside of military service (except D’Artagnan). In a well-thought-out essay, examine how these new professions coincide with or clash with their defining characteristics and values.

By the novel’s conclusion, it is clear that France is shifting to a new political attitude, one which demands cunning and wit rather than loyalty and devotion. Keeping the fates of the Musketeers in mind as you write, craft an essay in which you examine how Dumas’s narrative criticizes and legitimizes this new political direction.