View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What can a person see from the cafe on the corner of Kramagasse and Theaterplatz?

2. How are events triggered in the world described in the "10 June 1905" dream?

3. According to the "3 June 1905" dream, what is a life planned by?

4. What do all of the people of the world described in the "9 June 1905" dream have in common?

5. How can Besso tell that Einstein is making progress on his theory?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the young man in the 17 June 1905 dream leave his lover and tell her he cannot see her again?

2. Describe what happens between the baker and the woman in the 17 June 1905 dream.

3. How does the narrator describe time in the 17 June 1905 dream?

4. Describe the cafe that stands on the corner of Kramgasse and Theaterplatz.

5. Why do sunset and sunrise babies become frightened when the light changes?

6. What has the young woman at no. 27 Viktoriastrasse missed in her life because of the sudden thrust into the future?

7. What happens to the "withered woman" from the 2 June 1905 dream?

8. What options do people have when it comes to reading their Book of Life?

9. How does the narrator describe a world without a future?

10. Why does the man at the graveside refuse to weep for his deceased friend?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the fact that the novel takes place over two hours of "real time." What is the importance of this fact? Given that the novel describes many different aspects of time, how does the novel support the multiple theories or does it actually play against the theme of time? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

In the novel, do you believe the past is just as important as the present and future? Why? What evidence from the novel leads you to believe this? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 953 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample