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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. When he spent time in Moscow, what kinds of reports did Delta send back?

2. Why did Beta's writing assert that communism was salvation?

3. Why do Party dialecticians change the Method when necessary?

4. While talking to Beker, who is about to be burned at the crematorium because he is too weak to work, what is Beta's attitude?

5. What was the end result of Gamma's poetry?

Short Essay Questions

1. How were Beta's stories a fitting insight into his nihilist worldview?

2. Nearly six years of Nazi rule had radically changed people's ideas of private property. Did this help or harm the communist idea of common property?

3. Rather than blaming these four men for the choices they made, Milosz says they were slaves to history. How is this true?

4. In Chapter VIII, Milosz takes on the tone of a communist to describe the evils of the various classes. How is this more powerful than a mere description?

5. Eventually Delta's poems became something of a dream, unreal. How was this inevitable?

6. Beta's anger toward mankind became directed toward a fear of self-deception. How did this happen?

7. Under communist rule, education is from a strictly materialistic view. Why is this necessary to maintain proper thought among the citizens?

8. Milosz states that the goals of the workers are far different from those of the state. How is this so?

9. How was Delta able to play the game that the center demanded of him--and be better at it?

10. Milosz writes that Delta could not (or would not) distinguish between truth and fable, even in his personal life. Is this the kind of mind the Party would have wanted?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The West, in not taking advantage of every artist, wastes a huge amount of talent. Is the East's method better or worse? Is there an ideal system in which exceptional artists are appreciated without conforming to a particular method?

Essay Topic 2

Milosz asserts that the way to rule a nation's mind is through the word. Is this true or are there other factors equally important? Given what he says about both Nazi and communist controls over the printed word, how was this played out in Poland?

Essay Topic 3

Given the examples only of these four men, what is your impression of communism? Is it possible to get a good idea of both communist ideals and its reality by reading about their lives? Use examples from their chapters to illustrate your thoughts.

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