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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 does the narrator think that John Young begins his affairs?

2. What does Tod Friendly do to get a new name?

3. What does the narrator see upon waking at the beginning of the book?

4. Where would Odilo Unverdorben stay in Italy?

5. What does the woman say after John Young bursts into her apartment after taking off all his clothes?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator think about Tod Friendly's dreams and memories?

2. Describe some cases in which characters are wistful about the past.

3. How does Tod feel about his physical body in the first chapter?

4. Why does Tod Friendly enjoy being part of a crowd?

5. Describe John Young/Hamilton de Souza/Odilo Unverdorben's feelings about fleeing to America after the war.

6. What condition is Europe in when Odilo Unverdorben leaves?

7. How does the narrator experience Tod's kindness to children?

8. Describe how the narrator feels about Tod Friendly's work?

9. What habits does Tod Friendly pick up over the course of the first chapter?

10. Describe the narrator's mindset at the beginning of the novel.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator feels an almost religious awe at Uncle Pepi's power to create people.

1. Who else seems to have this power, and how do they use it? What are the effects of this power?

2. Are there any instances where characters resist this sense of awe with reason or pragmatism or some other form of understanding that protects them?

3. Is respect for that power a historical fact that was only exhibited in the Holocaust and select other historical instances? Or is respect for that power a stage of development, which has to be followed by regret and acts of contrition? Cite specific examples from the text in your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The motto at Schless-Hertheim is "There is such a thing as life that is not worthy of life." Is this motto reinforced by the events that take place after the war? Is it undermined?

1. Cite specific instances from the text where characters support or contradict this motto.

2. Are characters conflicted within themselves about this idea? How do they resolve this internal conflict?

Essay Topic 3

Odilo Unverdorben immigrates to America to flee from his past.

1. What about America is attractive to him as a Nazi fugitive? Citing examples from the text as well as from your knowledge of American culture, describe the qualities that make America an attractive destination for Odilo. How does this compare or contrast with how we typically think of America? Is America a land of opportunity for Odilo as well?

2. If Odilo does not find contentment and forgiveness in the end, is this, to some extent, because he lives in America? Should America have been able to redeem him? Should America have brought him to justice?

(see the answer keys)

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