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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 is the stoker's job?

2. What do Karl and Klara get into a fight about after dinner?

3. In the story's opening, what does Karl realize he has left below deck?

4. How old is Karl when the narrative opens?

5. Which word best characterizes the stoker's explanation to the captain of his grievances against Schubal?

Short Essay Questions

1. What details portray the women in the ship's kitchen as boldly flirtatious?

2. What claims does the stoker make against Schubal?

3. Explain how Karl's inability to keep track of his possessions causes complications in "The Stoker."

4. What is so fascinating to Karl about the desk in his room?

5. In what way is Karl's experience in the Pollunder house similar to his experience onboard the ship?

6. How does Schubal's manner when he enters the office tend to support the bursar's version of events?

7. Why is Karl so exhausted when the story opens?

8. What mixed messages does Karl get from Jakob about the visit to Pollunder's country home?

9. What conclusions has Karl already come to about America when the second chapter opens, and why?

10. What does Karl discover about Mak on his trip to the Pollunder home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Kafka saying about America through the motif of automation? Where are the most prominent images of automation? Are they all literal, or are there also figurative images of automation? How does this automation both attract and repel Karl? Is the audience meant to feel this same ambivalence? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position on the meaning of automation in Amerika. Use textual evidence from throughout the novel in support of your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze how Kafka's humor in Amerika reflects David Foster Wallace's commentary in "Laughing with Kafka." Establish the claims that Foster Wallace makes in his speech. Then, use quoted and paraphrased evidence from Kafka's text to support your analysis of the humor in Amerika and whether it does or does not support Foster Wallace's assertions. Cite evidence from both texts in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What does Amerika convey about the nature of authority? Does authority seem to change from Europe to America? Does its action seem to hinge on circumstances, personality, or both? Is Kafka's use of authority figures in pairs simply a structural device, or does this pairing reveal something about authority itself? Are Kafka's portrayals of authority meant to be funny, tragic, or both? Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about Amerika's stance on authority. Defend your ideas with evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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