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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Maryna wearing at the celebration party after her performance?

2. What is the name of the ship sailing to America?

3. When she is a child, what is one thing Maryna wants to grow up to be?

4. Why does Maryna declare "you have waited so long."

5. To whom is Maryna writing in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. On his passage to America, Ryszard spends time listening to English speaking passengers. He meets many Americans. How does he describe the American attitude about their country? How does this differ from the way Ryszard sees himself as a Pole?

2. As the story opens, the narrator describes the room in which people are conversing and drinking. Who are these people? How does the narrator know them?

3. In Chapter One, what scene does Maryna give Krystyna to act out? Why?

4. In Chapter Four, Maryna explains that in some places, the oldest is best. However, in America she says "biggest is best." What does she mean by this? What does she see that supports her observation? Is she displeased by this?

5. According to her monologue at the end of Chapter One, why is Maryna ready to leave acting and try something new?

6. How do the Saloon passengers gain entry into America? How do the steerage passengers leave the ship? How do Julian and Ryszard leave the ship, and where do they go?

7. In Chapter Zero, from whose voice is the story told? Who is the narrator? What does the narrator reveal about herself?

8. After her performance in Chapter One, Maryna dresses and is accompanied by Bogdan to the Hotel Saski. Why are they going to the Saski? What are they celebrating? Where is the narrator?

9. Henryk's farewell gift to Maryna when she leaves for America is a book. What is the title of the book, and what is Maryna's response to the book?

10. The group establishes their first commune in Zakopane. What are some of the activities described in the chapter necessary to sustain their community? What do they do in the town for the local community?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Maryna offers a detailed description of New York in the late 1800's in her letter to Henryk. What is the city like? Where do Maryna and Bogdan roam on their walks? What is New York in the late nineteenth century as seen through the eyes of immigrants?

Essay Topic 2

Edwin Booth's monologue finishes the novel. He has not been a character in the book, nor does he know any of the characters in the novel except Maryna. Why has the author chosen to end the book on this note? Is there a climax to the novel, and if so, where did it take place?

Essay Topic 3

Chapter One reveals a great deal about Maryna and the people who surround her. In this chapter, we get a clearer picture of the people Maryna surrounds herself with and how she thinks of those people. Why does Maryna want people to uproot themselves and their families and leave Krakow? How does she see the people who surround her? Why does she feel certain these people will follow her?

(see the answer keys)

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