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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. How does Abby Black know William Black?
2. In Why I'm Not Where You Are, what news can Thomas not bring himself to tell Grandma about her father?
3. What does Oskar think is "grody" about the story of The Sixth Borough?
4. Why is Oskar nervous about meeting Ruth Black?
5. What does Oskar decide to do in the final moment of Alive and Alone?
Short Essay Questions
1. What decision does Oskar make at the end of Alive and Alone?
2. What does Thomas learn immediately before the bombing of Dresden begins?
3. What does Stephen Hawking say to Oskar in A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem?
4. What major item movement happens between the sixth borough and and Manhattan as it drifts off?
5. What is Oskar's attitude toward Dr. Fein?
6. What does Dad relate about optimism to Oskar in the The Sixth Borough?
7. How does Thomas, Sr. discover he has a son in Why I'm Not where You Are?
8. What can Thomas not bring himself to tell Grandma at the end of Why I'm Not Where You Are?
9. Describe Thomas's experience during the bombing of Dresden.
10. What is the living arrangement between Grandma and Thomas in Why I'm Not Where You Are?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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?
Essay Topic 2
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 3
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.
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This section contains 1,248 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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