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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 criticism of Schubal does the captain make?

2. To what city does Green want to send Karl?

3. What is the large room that Karl sees over the balustrade?

4. By the time dinner is over, how does Karl feel about Klara?

5. What do the text's descriptions of New York and its suburbs most emphasize?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does Green's intervention keep Karl from getting back to New York on the same night he left?

4. What claims does the stoker make against Schubal?

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

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

7. What bizarre interaction does Karl have with Klara after dinner?

8. What unexpected news does Klara give her father when he and Karl arrive at the Pollunder home, and how does Pollunder react?

9. What analogy does Jakob draw between Karl and a newborn baby?

10. Describe Karl's first vision of the Statue of Liberty.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do ambiguity and the grotesque work together to create atmosphere and mood in Amerika, and how do these effects contribute to the novel's overall meaning? What patterns of detail and language work together to create a sense of ambiguity? What patterns of detail and language work together to create a sense of the grotesque? In combination, what specific atmosphere and mood do ambiguity and the grotesque create in this novel? How do atmosphere and mood support a theme or themes in Amerika? Be sure to support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that analyzes Amerika through the lens of Le Grand Guignol. Explain the hallmarks of this theatrical tradition and where they are seen, at minimum, in Kafka's settings, moods, and plot. Finally, explain what significance these similarities have to the book's overall meaning. Support your claims with evidence from the text.

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