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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 book does Karl's trunk contain?

2. Besides the possible pay and the difficulty of getting other work, what reason does Robinson give for why Karl should accept the job?

3. On the night that Robinson comes to the hotel, where is Rennel?

4. What were Delamarche and Robinson doing when they met Brunelda?

5. Who is the woman that eventually helps Karl get something to eat?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Brunelda's personality.

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

3. What other locations is the description of the suburban Ramses apartment building meant to evoke, and what is the similarity between these locations?

4. What do Karl's actions while he is fetching and serving breakfast demonstrate about his character?

5. When Karl is looking through his trunk, what does he realize about the cap he is wearing?

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

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

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

9. How does Therese's backstory support the idea that life for immigrants in America is difficult and somewhat dependent on sheer luck?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the innocence of wanderers such as Karl and Candide highlight about the nature of the world? In what sense is Karl a "transparent" character because of his innocence? How does this characteristic relate to the idea of the "missing person" mentioned in the book's full title? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about the significance of Karl's innocence within the travel narrative form of Amerika. Establish and then discuss the significance of Karl's initial innocence, his ability--or inability--to learn from his experiences, and his eventual fate. Support your assertions with evidence from throughout the text, and if you consult outside sources, be sure to credit these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you create a continuum of Amerika's female characters--based on a single criterion of your choosing--and then explain what this ordering of the characters conveys about the role of women in this text. Include, at a minimum, the following characters in your discussion: Therese, Line, Klara, Johanna, Brunelda, and the head cook. Be sure to offer textual evidence to support your assertions.

Essay Topic 3

What is the absurd, and how does Kafka employ it in Amerika? What patterns of detail and language help create a sense of absurdity? What impact does this absurdity have on the reader? How does absurdity support a theme or themes in the novel? Be sure to support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

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