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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 was the narrator's IQ at age 12?

2. Where does the narrator say he abandoned the Monkey?

3. How old was the narrator in 1950?

4. What was the name of the prostitute the narrator and Monkey picked up?

5. Where did the narrator go on a trip with the Monkey?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator say about his resentment for his Jewishness and shikses in Chapter 4?

2. What story does Alex tell of the Monkey with the married couple?

3. What does the narrator say about the Monkey's life story in Chapter 4?

4. What does Alex say he sometimes fantasizes about in Chapter 6?

5. When do the narrator's doubts about the Monkey reach a climax?

6. How did Alex feel about having "a real" relationship with the Monkey?

7. Who is Bubbles? What was she to Alex?

8. How does the narrator's first sexual experience occur with Bubbles?

9. What does the memories of the Monkey conjure in Alex's memory in Chapter 4?

10. Why did Alex and Kay almost marry? What caused him to end the relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the Oedipus Complex as it applies to the main character of Portnoy's Complaint. What emotions and experiences support this theme?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the phrase "Living a Jewish Joke." How does this resonate as an important element of Portnoy's Complaint? How does the ending of the novel revisit this line?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of religion in Portnoy's Complaint. How does the narrator express his issues with Judaism? What are his feelings toward Christianity? How does religion tie into the other themes in the novel?

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