View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the schoolgirl do to pass her time while she is waiting for her parents to get home after Joey arrives?

2. How does the schoolgirl react when she realizes that Joey is watching her talk on the phone?

3. Which of the following words does Pimko use to express "bottom"?

4. What unit of currency is used in the town in which Momsen and Filibur live?

5. According to the narrator, what are all writers dependent on above all else?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the students in Joey's classroom treat their teachers?

2. What relationship does Pimko hope will transpire between Joey and Zuta?

3. How do the students in Joey's class respond when they are asked to translate Latin?

4. What happens in the battle of face-pulling between Syphus and Kneadus?

5. Who is Doctor Momsen?

6. Why doesn't Kopydra want to engage in the dual between the lads and the guys?

7. Who is Kopydra?

8. How do the students in Joey's English class feel about the Polish poet, Slsowacki?

9. What complaint does the teacher have when Pimko drops Joey off for his first day of school?

10. How does the dual between Filidor and Momsen end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Pimko's school, the best attribute a student can have is immaturity. First, describe why immaturity is such an alluring character trait for the students in Pimko's school. Then, describe how the teachers manipulate the immature students' brains. What commentary is Gombrowicz making about academia in general through the use of his overbearing, opinionated teachers? Choose at least two examples of scenes from the text that you believe best exemplify and strengthen your argument and describe those scenes in this essay.

Essay Topic 2

Joey comes into contact with various members of his family as the novel progresses. First, explain why Joey's family is so broken and scattered. How has this element of his life affected Joey's level of maturity? Then, choose at least one scene in which one of Joey's family members pops up unexpectedly. How does Joey react to this surprise? How does the reintroduction of family affect the way Joey interacts with the outside world?

Essay Topic 3

Kneadus's main goal for the entire novel is to locate and connect with the farmhand. First, describe the character of the farmhand. What makes this character so desirable to outsiders? Then, describe how Kneadus finally met the farmhand he was searching for. What was the outcome of this meeting? Finally, describe the outside reaction to the idea that a master could befriend a servant. How did this reaction directly affect the relationship between Kneadus and his farmhand?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,013 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample