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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. In Googolplex, what does Oskar invent to go under his pillow?

2. What words does Oskar Schell tell Abby Black define her in The Only Animal?

3. What command does Oskar refuse in his first jujitsu class?

4. What is the last thing that the narrator writes to the woman in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

5. What is the last word that the narrator of Why I'm Not Where You Are is able to speak?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Grandma get samples of letters as a child in My Feelings?

2. What two ways does Oskar communicate with Grandma in Googolplex?

3. Describe Thomas's decision to leave Grandma in Why I'm Not Where You Are.

4. What do Abby Black and Oskar Schell talk about in The Only Animal?

5. How does Grandma find Oskar in My Feelings?

6. How does married life become a series of negotiations for Grandma and Thomas Schell, Sr. in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

7. What is Thomas Schell doing when he begins to lose his words?

8. How does Grandma convince Thomas to marry her in My Feelings?

9. How does Grandma know that Thomas is gone at the end of My Feelings?

10. Describe Oskar's first stop on his quest.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the role that the past plays in defining the present in the novel. How is every major character in the novel a product of past that they may or may not know? To what extent are Grandma and Thomas Schell, Sr., the keepers of this history? Why do they choose not to explicate this history to the younger generations of the novel? In the end, how does the younger generation, as represented by Oskar, discover the reality of its roots through accidental contact with the older?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing the notion that Oscar Schell is a child and a man simultaneously. How does his interaction with family, classmates and strangers reflect a style of speech and intellectual curiosity beyond his years? To whom does he write letters and why? In the second part of the essay, discuss how Oskar psychologically has been forced to mature in his fears, anxieties, and needs before his time. Why has he been left at a mid-point between childhood and adulthood?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the marriage between Grandma and Thomas Schell, Sr. How do they find their way into each other's lives and to what extent does the tragedy of Dresden's demise play a central role in bringing them together? Chart the progression of their relationship in America form reconnection to courtship and through their marriage. How does the development of rules lead to the eventual end of their marriage? What happens when he returns to her?

(see the answer keys)

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