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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 litost mean?

2. Where does Tamina work?

3. When Kristyna arrives, where is the student?

4. What happens to Kundera's father about the same time as what happens to Hubl?

5. What does the man who orders a coke ask Tamina?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe a few of the most salient points about Tamina.

2. What conditions have to exist for graphomania to blossom?

3. Where does Tamina go with Raphael?

4. What does Tamina ask Bibi to get for her in Prague and why does Tamina make the request?

5. Who is Kristyna?

6. How is Tamina's situation where Raphael takes her similar to her husband's situation just before he dies?

7. What does Tamina do shortly after her husband dies and what might this foreshadow?

8. What character's life is again addressed in part 6 and how is her life dismissed in a sense?

9. What happens to Kundera's father in Part 6 and what do you think is the significance of Kundera writing about what happens to his father?

10. To what do Kristyna and the student agree and what is the outcome? What does the student's evaluation of Kristyna tell the reader?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Part 3, "The Angels," laughter is discussed and analyzed at great length. Discuss the following:

1. Compare and contrast the different types of laughter discussed in Part III.

2. Which types of laughter could be labeled "good" or "uplifting"? Explain.

3. Which types of laughter could be labeled "bad" or "harmful"? Explain fully.

Essay Topic 2

In part 5, "Litost," a student at the Writer's Club states that only a poet can understand the value of what he writes and others may never get it at all. Discuss the following:

1. What is the purpose of poetry if not to communicate to others?

2. Do you think the above statement only applies to poetry? Why or why not?

3. If no one can understand the value of something one writes, is it worth writing it? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

In Part 1, the narrator says that Mirek has always been ashamed of Zdena for the simple fact that she is ugly. Much of this book deals with sexual relationships. Discuss one of the following:

1. Do you think Mirek's attitude about a woman's attractiveness is fairly universal? Why or why not? Discuss his attitude and then expand on that.

2. What do you think is the basis of the relationship between Marketa and Karel? Do you think they have a fairly "typical" relationship?

3. Do men base relationships on different criteria than women? Use examples from the book and your personal knowledge.

(see the answer keys)

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