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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 is the narrator rejected at the fire department for wearing?

2. What is the old man's profession?

3. What tickets does the Officer of the Day hand out?

4. What newspaper covers the walls of the narrator's apartment?

5. Why does Mr. Christie decide against employing the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator glad when the stable-boy asks him for five kroner?

2. Of what does the narrator become terrified in the dark?

3. What criticism does the editor give the narrator over his articles?

4. Why does the narrator decide to return to his old apartment?

5. What story does the narrator tell the old man?

6. What lie does the narrator invent to explain why he returned for the pencil?

7. For what does C. Zacharias Bartel think the narrator has visited him, and why does he not want the narrator to see it?

8. Why does the narrator stop to read the late editions of the newspapers, and for what does he apply?

9. Why does the narrator suspect Scissors of trying to drive him away?

10. What happens when the narrator angrily rings the bell of a random third-floor apartment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Aside from the main character, examine the way the author uses other characters in the book. How are they introduced and removed from the story? What impact do they have on the narrator?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the parallels between the narrator's surroundings and his mental state. How do the narrator's surroundings affect his writing? How are his thoughts influenced by being in certain locations, such as by a church or at the pier?

Essay Topic 3

Towards the end of the novel, desecration becomes a central theme, both in the narrator's thoughts and in events. Discuss the symbolism used by Knut Hamsun. Is the final desecration of his pride an inevitable conclusion to the novel? What do you think are the author's opinions on this pride?

(see the answer keys)

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