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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. What does Grandma say she wishes she could do near the end of My Feelings?

2. Why does Oskar excuse himself to A.R. Black's bathroom in Heavy Boots - Heavier Boots?

3. What request does the woman in Why I'm Not Where You Are make of the narrator?

4. At the beginning of The Only Animal, Oskar remembers his dad explain how he could change what gargantuan natural formation?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Oskar Schell do with the phone after his father's call on September 11, 2001?

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

3. How does Thomas Schell's silence affect his living situation?

4. How does Grandma find Oskar in My Feelings?

5. What is Oskar's attitude toward Jimmy?

6. What does Oskar do with the key in this chapter?

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

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

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

10. Describe Oskar's argument with his mother in Heavy Boots - Heavier Boots.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oskar Schell is a character with a number of idiosyncrasies: collecting odd pictures, contacting famous scientists, and punching himself. Write an essay in which you choose three idiosyncrasies and analyze the root of their existence. What purpose do they serve in Oskar's daily life? How does he use them to fend off sadness, embarrassment, and fear? Do any of them appear to be inherited in some respect from his father? Sum up the essay by discussing what Oskar fears in the wake of his father's death and what he wants out of life, connecting these objectives to the character ticks that define him.

Essay Topic 2

Two objects in Oskar Schell's life consume him and hold him captive. They dictate how he feels and what he does with his life. Write an essay about these two items, the hold they have over Oskar, and how he resolves his connection to them:

Part 1) What is the significance of the phone and answering machine that Oskar keeps under his bed? Discuss the messages that are contained on it. Why does Oskar listen the them so often and never tell his mother about them. Who does he eventually play the messages for and why?

Part 2) Discuss the key that inspires Oskar to begin his city-wide quest. What clues about its significance emerge as he investigates? How does the key become the central driver of plot in the novel? What, in the end is the purpose of the key and how does learning this truth affect Oskar Schell?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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