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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 had been the garbage man's profession before coming to America?

2. What is the Blue Fairy Godmother's response to the narrator's concerns that his parents knew he was broadcasting Nazi propaganda?

3. What characteristics do all the guardsmen at Krapptauer's memorial have in common?

4. What false name does George Kraft suggest for the narrator?

5. What causes the Holy Grail to disappear in the narrator's play?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the offensive drawing that Kraft uses for target practice. Why does the narrator say he drew the "ludicrous" cartoon, and what does he himself think about it?

2. What is Resi's explanation for tricking the narrator into thinking she is her dead sister?

3. When the narrator returns to his ransacked attic home, what does it remind him of?

4. Why does George Kraft say he wants to start a new life with the narrator and Resi?

5. Describe the schoolteacher's wife's behavior in the bomb shelter. How does her husband respond?

6. How does Resi Noth die and what is the reason?

7. Describe Lazlo Szombathy, the man who uses the rope intended for the narrator. What had he done in his native country and after coming to America?

8. Describe what happened to the narrator after being beaten and knocked unconscious.

9. Describe the encounter between Werner von Braun and the narrator when they meet in New York?

10. How did the narrator meet Werner von Braun and what detail does he recall from that meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the concept of patriotism as presented in the novel compared to your own idea of patriotism. Give your definition of patriotism and discuss what you think patriotism means to some of the characters in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the process Howard Campbell goes through from hiding from prosecution to wanting to face punishment for his crimes.

Essay Topic 3

In your opinion, does Howard Campbell ever redeem himself for his crimes? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 941 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample