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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 do Tamina and her husband leave at her Stepmother's house?

2. How does the student feel as he returns home?

3. What does Husak desire?

4. What happens to Hubl after his comments?

5. What is the island like where Tamina and the boy are at?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the meaning of the word litost?

2. 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?

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

4. Where does the student go the day before Kristyna arrives and how does this affect the interaction between Kristyna and the student?

5. What happens to permanently silence Tamina?

6. How are the Czechs and litost related in Kundera's opinion?

7. Explain who Tamina is and the significance of how Kundera describes her.

8. What is the relationship of litost to romantic love in general and specifically in relation to Kristyna and the student?

9. Why do you think Kundera blurs historical moments?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Part 6, Kundera remarks that like Beethoven's final acts, his book is a novel on variations. It is a number of voyages leading into and through one theme. Discuss the following:

1. What is the one theme of this novel?

2. Explain the variations of the theme giving specific examples.

3. Do you think there are other themes besides the one Kundera has in mind? What are they? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

In Part 4, the main character (as deemed by Kundera later in the novel) is introduced. She is one of the two or three fictionalized characters that Kundera assumes are born every second on earth. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think Kundera means by the statement above?

2. Do you think Kundera is advocating for or against writers and the characters they create? Explain fully.

3. If Tamina is a fictionalized character, do you think she is a symbol of some concept in Kundera's experiences? What do you think she represents? Explain fully.

4. Kundera thinks of Tamina as the main character. Why do you think he sees her as the main character? Of what--the book? A couple parts of the book?

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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