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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 Why I'm Not Where You Are, what news can Thomas not bring himself to tell Grandma about her father?

2. According to Grandma in Why I'm Not Where You Are, why did Thomas, Jr. take over the jewelry store?

3. In Why I'm Not Where You Are, Thomas admits to Grandma that during their absence he had sex with whom?

4. What type of lock does the key go with?

5. On what floor of the Empire State Building did a plane crash in 1945?

Short Essay Questions

1. What can Thomas not bring himself to tell Grandma at the end of Why I'm Not Where You Are?

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

3. Why does the trip to Agnes Black's apartment stir Oskar's curiosity in Happiness, Happiness?

4. How does Oskar overcome a phobia in Alive and Alone?

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

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

7. What does Thomas learn immediately before the bombing of Dresden begins?

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

9. What major item movement happens between the sixth borough and and Manhattan as it drifts off?

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

One of the most whimsical and tragic figures of the novel is A.R. Smith, the old photographer the floor above Oskar. Write an essay about A.R. Black, his worldview, and his impetus to help Oskar on his quest. How does his extensive card catalogue reflect a particular worldview? What in his past could have contributed to this worldview? Why do you think that A.R. Black decides to join Oskar on his search, and why do you think 6 months is enough searching for him? Sum up by offering an opinion as to where he goes when he moves out of Oskar's building. Do you think he moves in with Ruth Black?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel told largely from the point of view of Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old living with his mother on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His life before the September 11th attacks was sheltered; after the attacks, he is consumed with anxieties he must overcome. Write an essay about three new experiences he has in the novel and how they affect him:

Part 1) When Oskar Schell begins his search for the key's lock, his first subject is Aaron Black of Corona. How is his journey into Corona an entirely new experience? Has he ever been to Queens before this point? What does he notice about Aaron Black's apartment building that is different from his own?

Part 2) When Oskar goes to Abe Black's place in Coney Island, he is suddenly compelled to do something by Abe that scares him. What is this action that terrifies Oskar? What essential fears stemming from his father's death does this action represent for Oskar?

Part 3) Discuss how Oskar Schell's interaction with Ruth Black represents his most extreme confrontation with the anxieties created by the September 11th attacks. What is he afraid of as he goes to her apartment? What thoughts consume him, and how does he deal with them?

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