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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 stylistically is noticeable about this chapter, Why I'm Not Where You Are?

2. What does the interviewee at the beginning of Happiness, Happiness call for at the end of his story?

3. How is a famous landmark moved from the Sixth Borough to Manhattan?

4. Which of the following questions is not one that Oskar asks himself as he imagines a 9/11 type scenario in Alive and Alone?

5. In Why I'm Not Where You Are, where does Thomas say he wants to live with Anna?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Oskar Schell meet Thomas, Sr. at the beginning of Alive and Alone?

2. What does Oskar tell Thomas, Sr. over the course of Alive and Alone?

3. What does does Thomas tell his son about his and and his former wife's location at the beginning Why I'm Not Where You Are?

4. How does Thomas, Sr. discover he has a son in Why I'm Not where You Are?

5. What is happening in Dad's fourth message?

6. How does Oskar's presentation go at the beginning of Happiness, Happiness?

7. What decision does Oskar make at the end of Alive and Alone?

8. Describe Thomas's experience during the bombing of Dresden.

9. What is revealed by the long jump at the beginning of The Sixth Borough?

10. What does Stephen Hawking say to Oskar in A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

The three central characters of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close have all lost someone key to their lives and are painfully lost and isolated as a result. Write an essay about each of their isolation. What is missing from their lives since the loss? How do they deal with this pain on a day to day basis, and what emotions pervade as a result? Who attempts to reach out to them and how do they respond?

Part 1) Thomas Schell, Sr.

Part 2) Grandma.

Part 3) Oskar Schell.

(see the answer keys)

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