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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. The woman with the red suitcase has how many grown children?

2. For what reason does the narrator lament the plights of people who speak a particular language?

3. The narrator says that she prefers to be more like a gardener than like a what when it comes to her own narrative?

4. Philip Verheyen was a real person from history who held what position?

5. What part of the fictional Philip Verheyen's own body does he dissect over the course of several years?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the words of Annushka's supposed tormentor are revealed, what had the old woman been saying?

2. What significance does the unnamed narrator find in the shapes of airports?

3. How is the theme of family bonds demonstrated within Annushka's story?

4. What elements does the unnamed narrator consider when deciding whether a story or a lecture is more appropriate for the story she has to tell?

5. In what way does Tokarczuk use dialogue in order to highlight a lack of sensitivity in tourists?

6. What two points of view does the narrator claim exist in the world and why?

7. How do Existentialist ideals creep into Verheyen's later writings?

8. In what way does the unnamed narrator show an affinity for secrecy?

9. What object does Tokarczuk use in a metaphor characterizing the nocturnal brain and why?

10. How does Tokarczuk present the theme of being present within the vignette entitled “Irkutsk-Moscow”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of Kunicki's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Tokarczuk in depicting Kuncki and his family and include in your discussion the reasons that Tokarczuk portrays the characters in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 2

What message does Tokarczuk send within the pages of Flights concerning the link between travel and a meaningful life?

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the theme of appearance versus reality within Flights. What is Tokarczuk’s message regarding appearances versus the nature of reality and how do you know?

(see the answer keys)

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