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. Where does the narrator decide to sleep for the night?

2. What type of business does Fabian Olsen own?

3. What does the narrator discover in the darkness of his cell?

4. Hans Pauli Pettersen is the son of whom?

5. What does the narrator say his landlord does for a profession?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the narrator's apartment at the beginning of the novel.

3. Why does the narrator think of his banker friend?

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

5. Why does the narrator give his banker friend his tie?

6. How does the narrator react to the old cripple walking in front of him?

7. Why does the narrator start crying?

8. How does the narrator treat the two women?

9. What does the narrator find sitting on his bedside table when he returns to his old apartment?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator's story is one of suffering. How does Knut Hamsun inject humor into the novel? How does the pace of the novel compare with the contents of the story? Do you think this is an effective literary device?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

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)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample