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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. At the hotel, what does Robinson blame his illness on?

2. Whose holds the job the head porter calls the "most stupid work in the entire hotel" (175)?

3. What causes Karl to have second thoughts about leaving New York?

4. From context clues, what can logically be inferred about what Brunelda's neighbor is studying?

5. What does the other lift boy think will be the likely outcome of Karl's interview with the head waiter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is ironic about Karl getting in trouble for being away from his lift?

2. When Karl is worried about the vomit in the light shaft being noticed, how do his thoughts foreshadow his eventual fate?

3. How do Delamarche and Robinson persuade Karl to accompany them in the morning?

4. How does Karl try to improve his position in life while he is at the Occidental Hotel?

5. What grudge does the head porter have against Karl, and how does it underscore the ridiculous labor conditions in the hotel?

6. What is ironic about Karl's actions with his trunk during the night he spends in the inn after leaving Pollunder's house?

7. Why does Karl have a hard time sleeping when he is living at the Occidental Hotel?

8. How does Robinson end up in Rennel's bed in the dormitory?

9. What annoys Karl about finding the salami in his trunk in Chapter IV, "The March to Ramses," and what is the salami's eventual fate?

10. Describe Brunelda's personality.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the ambiguities in Karl's character support the novel's theme? Write a pro-con essay that explains more than one way to interpret Karl's character. Develop each potential characterization with evidence from the novel. Conclude your essay with an explanation of how these differing interpretations can both be correct and why this ambiguity actually supports the novel's meaning.

Essay Topic 2

How does Karl's trunk represent his ambivalence about his parents, and what role have they played in creating this ambivalence? Write an essay in which you consider the trunk's provenance, its contents, its role in the novel's plot, and what Karl's treatment of the trunk reveals. Offer textual evidence from throughout the novel in support of your assertions.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paragraph that explains the relationship between Karl's journey through America and the descriptions of the major locations that he visits. Consider the locations' sizes, their labyrinthine nature, and the frequent references to stairs, elevators, and balconies. Consider the atmospheres of these locations and how they change over the course of the narrative. Make sure that you do more than describe the various settings and their details: the goal of your essay should be to tie these textual details to the progress of Karl's journey and the overall meaning of the novel.

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