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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. How many times do the St. Vincent's Cathedral bells chime at the end of the 24 April 1905 dream?

2. What happens to time in the "14 May 1905" dream?

3. How many dimensions does the man in the leather coat live in simultaneously?

4. What does the narrator say people transported to the past fear?

5. What song is the young man humming as he waits for the typist to come into the office?

Short Essay Questions

1. For the world described in the 11 May 1905 dream, describe the differences between the past and the future.

2. Why do schools close one year before the end of the world?

3. Why are some people unhappy in the world where time exists as a circle?

4. Describe the people who live by "bodily time."

5. How does Einstein's desk differ from the others in the patent office?

6. What are the benefits of living in a world in which cause and effect are erratic?

7. What happens every day for the townspeople of Berne? (28 April 1905)

8. What are the benefits of a world in which time is absolute?

9. What happens to travelers as they enter the world described in the 14 May 1905 dream?

10. What happens one month before the world ends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Salman Rushdie states that the novel is "intellectually provocative and touching and comical and so very beautifully written." (Dust cover quote-1993 edition by Pantheon Books, New York) What, from this quote, do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Based on your stand as a reader, support your belief with textual evidence. Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the representation of time and dreams in the novel. Can you find any links that actualize the parallels between dreams and time? Cite three examples from the text that show commonalities between dreams and time. Discuss these parallels in a comparison essay.

Essay Topic 3

Choose a representation of time from the novel and examine why it is not a realistic representation of time. Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses as to why this "world" is the most unrealistic from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 935 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample