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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 becomes difficult for childhood friends in The Sixth Borough?

2. In A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem, what does Oskar recall doing when dad calls on September 11, 2001?

3. In Happiness, Happiness, what child actor does Jimmy make sexually explicit comments about?

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

5. What is the only object Thomas retrieves in the rubble of Dresden?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the living arrangement between Grandma and Thomas in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. How does the sixth borough's drift affect a boy and girl in the story?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Write an essay about the city of New York as a character in the novel. To what extent is the character of Oskar Schell making a connection with a wounded city throughout his journey? What role does his father's story of the sixth borough have in romanticizing New York on the eve of its deepest trauma? How does the key quest bring Oskar to new and different areas of a city renowned as a melting pot? In summation, what is Jonathan Safran Foer saying about the city of New York through this novel?

(see the answer keys)

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