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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. Which two members of the commune are interested in the new commune north of them?

2. What wakes the commune in the middle of the night in April?

3. Who has learned the chemistry of wine making and tries to teach the immigrants?

4. What does Ryszard witness while on Market Street?

5. Who is waiting for Maryna when she arrives in San Francisco?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Booth treat Maryna in his monologue? Why does she suffer his verbal abuses?

2. How does Maryna meet Miss Collingridge? When do they meet a second time? What happens after this second meeting?

3. Maryna hires Eliza Withington to take a photograph of the group. Why does she do this? What conversation takes place between Eliza and Maryna after the photo shoot? How does the photo turn out?

4. What story does Ryszard write based on the events at the circus? What is his purpose for writing his story?

5. In Chapter Seven, the narrator says "and she would tell many lies." Why does Maryna begin to tell lies? What does she lie about? What are some of the lies she tells and to whom?

6. In Chapter Seven, Bogdan injures himself and cannot come to San Francisco. What happens between Ryszard and Maryna? How do they change? What happens to their relationship by the end of the chapter?

7. Edwin professes to Maryna that there are no happy endings and that an ending is anticlimactic. What does he mean by this?

8. Maryna and her family travel back to Poland to see their friends and family. How does the author tell the story of their trip? What comes across in the description of the visit? What important pieces of information are presented?

9. Edwin Booth talks about his father and his brother, John Booth. What does he reveal about these two important figures in his life?

10. Ryszard offers to take Bogdan and Maryna on a trip to San Bernardinos. Does Bogdan go on the trip? How does he feel about Maryna and Ryzsard alone on the trip?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the opening chapter, the narrator says "the past is the biggest country of all" and expresses the wish to set stories in the past. Discuss this quote and it's relevance to the novel.

Essay Topic 2

As Maryna returns to the theatre, she begins to once again reinvent herself for this life in America. How does she do this? How calculated are her lies and fabrications? What has she learned about Americans and their heroes?

Essay Topic 3

While on the ship to America, the narrator describes Ryszard as actually being two people. Who are these two people inside of him, and how do they coexist to define Ryszard? Is this a universal theme, or one unique to Ryszard?

(see the answer keys)

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