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. How does time move in the world described in the 2 June 1905 dream?

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

3. Who is the author of the paper that Einstein left on Besso's desk?

4. What does the woman in the "2 June 1905" dream begin teaching?

5. In the "17 June 1905" dream, why does the young man tell his lover that he cannot see her again?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the notion of the speed effect come to be known?

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

3. According to the 3 June 1905 dream, describe how a person born in December exists.

4. In the 22 May 1905 dream, what happens for those who have not seen a glimpse of their future yet?

5. What is the young woman at no. 27 Viktoriastrasse doing right before she thrusts herself into the future?

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

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

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

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

10. Describe the life of a "Now."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On the back of the novel, James Gleick is quoted for the novel saying, "No novelist, physicist, or philosopher has offered such a wonderful vision of what time has been or might be." What implication does this set up for the understanding of Einstein himself? What problems may this quote have for the author's intent of writing the novel? Why might Gleick's statement be misunderstood as negative towards Einstein and, therefore, the author himself? Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the formatting of the novel. Choose one of the following prompts discussing the formatting of the novel:

- Were you confused by the dates of the chapters and the meaning behind them?

- When did you realize the chapters were describing dreams and not realities for the novel?

- Why do you believe that readers are not given more information on Einstein himself about the movement of the novel?

- Do you think that this adds to the flow of the novel or hinders the flow of it?

- What relevance does Besso play in the novel?

- Why does the reader see more of his thoughts than Einstein's?

Cite specific examples from the text to support your responses.

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 1,023 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample