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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 does the protagonist do?

2. What does Kathleen tell Eliezer?

3. What does Kathleen know when he tells her he loves her?

4. Why is Kathleen staying in a posh hotel in New York City?

5. What does he know from movies he has seen?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the protagonist not able to make love to the girl?

2. What has happened to Kathleen?

3. What do the doctor and the protagonist say about the river?

4. What does Kathleen ask of Eliezer?

5. Describe the protagonist's story about his teacher.

6. Who arrives before Kathleen? Describe their behavior. How does the protagonist respond to this.

7. What is Eliezer's memory about the train station?

8. What would happen if the protagonist did not do what the teacher told him to do?

9. What is Kathleen's response to this story?

10. How has this traumatic experience affected the girl?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dr. Paul Russel is a pivotal character in the story.

Part 1) Why is he a pivotal character?

Part 2) How does the protagonist interact with him? Why?

Part 3) How, in a sense, are the doctor/patient roles reversed?

Essay Topic 2

The doctor knows the protagonist does not care about life.

Part 1) How does he know this? What is the protagonist's reaction? Why does he react this way?

Part 2) Why can the doctor not understand the protagonist's depression?

Part 3) With what is the doctor concerned? Should that be his only concern? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The author's description of the passersby on the street is bleak.

Part 1) Describe these people. Do they look like this in reality? Why or why not?

Part 2) How does this foreshadow the feeling of the rest of the novel?

Part 3) Describe a time when your emotions affected your take on your surroundings.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 977 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample