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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. To whom is Thomas writing Why I'm Not Where You Are?

2. Who is the man in Abby Black's Village apartment?

3. On the verge of losing everything in Dresden, what does Thomas imagine nourishing the trees as he walks down a road?

4. By the time Mom returns home in My Feeling, what does Grandma know?

5. Why is the coffin that Oskar and his mother bury in What The? empty?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens in the airport in My Feelings?

2. Describe Thomas Schell's first meeting with his future wife?

3. What happens with Grandma on the evening of September 11, 2001?

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

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

6. Describe Oscar's interplay with Gerald Thompson in What The?

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

8. What is the significance of the storage unit in The Only Animal?

9. How does Oskar Schell fare in his first jujitsu class?

10. What is the purpose of the drain system Oskar imagines in Googolplex?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Grandma. To what extent is she portrayed as woman who beholds all the pain of the world and continues to love? Who does she lose over the course of the novel, and how does she lose each of these loved ones? What fear does this create in her? Discuss in a paragraph how her relationship with Oskar allows her to continue on in the face of heartbreak and loneliness. Who returns to her in the end of the novel, and how does she react?

Essay Topic 2

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a story about interconnection. Oskar Schell's search of the key's lock is an egalitarian one, crossing different boroughs, socioeconomic groups, and life experiences. Write an essay about three of the Blacks Oskar meets in his quest. How is this person's experience different from his own? What about this person's life is compelling to Oskar? What questions does he ask, and in the end how is his life richer for meeting this person?

Part 1) Abby Black.

Part 2) Abe Black.

Part 3) Ada Black.

Essay Topic 3

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is, at its roots, a study of human yearning for love in the face of brutal cataclysm. In the novel, characters lose each other and find each other in the crucible of tragedy. Write an essay about this in three parts:

Part 1) What is lost to the major character of the novel in the wake of the attack of September 11, 2001? How are existing bonds strengthened in the wake of this tragedy? In this paragraph, discuss the relationships among Oskar, Mom, and Grandma.

Part 2) Write a paragraph about the bombing of Dresden. How does this horrific event of World War II affect the Schell and Schmidt families? Who is lost in this bombing? How does the bombing, in the end, lead to another marriage and the birth of a child?

Part 3) In summation, discuss how a marriage that was destroyed by the memories of Dresden is reunited in the wake of September 11th. Who returns to whom in the aftermath? What characters begin to learn about their roots as a result of this reunion?

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