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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. One of Flight's vignettes sees the narrator judging a friend of hers who hates to travel in what manner?

2. One vignette focuses on a ruler from Istanbul who rounds up what kinds of stray animals and puts them on an island?

3. As the narrator flips through television channels while unable to sleep, she determines that everything falls into how many categories?

4. The vignette entitled "Sarira" focuses on what kind of person?

5. The first pilgrim featured within Flights takes annual vacations of what length?

Short Essay Questions

1. Since childhood, what sight has filled Blau with a feeling of happiness and fulfillment?

2. What is the message contained within the vignette entitled "Travel Sizes"?

3. What discordant image is at the center of the vignette entitled "Cleopatras"?

4. To what advice does the title "Guidance from Cioran" refer?

5. How does the unnamed narrator feel about islands and why?

6. Discuss an instance of Tokarczuk employing satire in order to poke fun at a particular group.

7. What does the narrator announce as the aim of each one of her pilgrimages?

8. How is the theme of violence present within the story about the sultan?

9. What are the narrator's feelings about guidebooks?

10. How is repetition used within the story about Kunicki and for what purpose?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Look carefully at the passages of Flights that use allusion. What is Tokarczuk’s purpose for using a particular category of allusions with Flights and how does the use of allusion support the text’s goals?

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about Flights while using the critical power theory lens of Marxist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of issues such as socioeconomic status, hierarchies, wealth, class, or any other issues related to Marxist theory that can be found in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Tokarczuk's choice to tell the story of Flights using a great deal of first-person narration. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are Tokarczuk’s intended effects on the reader?

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