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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. How many children are supposedly being housed at the monastery in Brejevina that is intended to accommodate twenty monks, according to the narrator in Chapter 1: "The Coast"?

2. In Chapter 1: "The Coast," the narrator says that "to welcome the newly loosed spirit [of the dead], the living will not clean, will not wash or tidy, will not remove the soul’s belongings for" how many days?

3. Where does Natalia describe a college student firebombing a zoo concession stand in Chapter 2: "The War"?

4. What is the name of the turtle that Frau Antun asks Natalia and Zora if they've met yet at the orphanage in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

5. The digger that Natalia talks with in Chapter 3: "The Diggers" tells her that he has a cousin buried in the dig site. How long does he say he's been buried there?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is symbolized by Natalia's grandfather's ritual visits to the zoo in the Prologue and Chapter 1: "The Coast"? How does this tradition play into the novel's themes?

2. What are there portraits of all over the orphanage in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"? What do these portraits signify?

3. Discuss the setting of the novel. Where is the story set? What clues in the narrative indicate the setting? What time period does the story take place in?

4. Why are the diggers digging in the vineyard in Chapter 3: "The Diggers"? How does the objective of the diggers relate to the novel's themes?

5. How does Natalia describe her visit with her grandfather to Verimovo in Chapter 6: "The Fire"? Where did they go there?

6. What interrupts Natalia and Zora as they go about fulfilling their mission in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

7. In Chapter 2: "The War," Natalia comments, "Everything necessary to understand my grandfather lies between two stories." What are these stories and what does Natalia mean by this comment?

8. How does Gavran Gaile describe his supernatural abilities in Chapter 6: "The Fire"? How did he attain these abilities?

9. What incident involving being detained by customs officers at the border does Natalia describe in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

10. What do Natalia and Zora go to the monastery to do in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"? What is foreshadowed when Zora gives out candy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the involvement of the Balkans during World War II. How did the war change the borders of the countries in this region? How many civilians were systematically executed or imprisoned by the Nazis? How are these events depicted through the narrative of The Tiger’s Wife? How do you think World War II differs from the internal conflicts of the former Yugoslavia in terms of its impact on the citizens?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the character of Dure and the objective of the diggers in the novel. Why does Dure refuse to have his children inoculated at the orphanage? What illness do you think the diggers suffer from? What are Dure and the diggers searching for in the vineyard? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the setting of The Tiger’s Wife. Where is author Tea Obreht from and how is this setting reflected in the novel? Why do you think the author chose to set the story in a “fictional” Balkan country as opposed to using actual names of places? How does the author differentiate the settings of “the city” versus those of rural areas?

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