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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 does Siegfried do as a result of the dream?

2. What does Hanna think her mother and father do for each other?

3. What is Siegfried Tegern's occupation?

4. How is Oma helped?

5. Who does the mother intend to help with her giving birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is wrong with Renate's leg and why and how does Hanna try to fix it?

2. What does Hanna learn from Trudi about her father?

3. Describe Matthias Berger.

4. What do many people believe is the cause of Trudi becoming an old maid?

5. How does Hanna's mother get Hanna involved in swimming?

6. Describe Klara's romance with an American soldier.

7. What does Matthias tell Hanna about his life as a priest in training?

8. How is Trudi treated as a child?

9. What does Siegfried do as a result of the dream and why does he do so?

10. Who does Hanna befriend?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of Floating in My Mother's Palm and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Rolf confronts Hanna about the joke. Hanna becomes angry and tells him that his father abandoned him because he did not want him. Rolf has never been told the truth about his father, therefore he is deeply upset by Hanna's words. When Rolf does not return home that night, a search is organized. The following morning Hanna finds Rolf near the river. Hanna tells him all she knows about his American soldier father. Rolf sends Hanna to learn more. Finally Rolf agrees to go home.

1. From the information given on Hanna's pranks, do you think she carried pranks too far? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Do you think Hanna was wrong for telling Rolf about his father? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss the ways in which Rolf's knowledge of his father might change his life. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Floating in My Mother's Palm, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements in Floating in My Mother's Palm. (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 961 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample