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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. Of what in particular is the narrator frightened?

2. What body part does the narrator try to bite off in a fit of hunger?

3. What does the narrator worry about as he sits outside Our Saviour's Church?

4. Where has Mr. Pettersen gone?

5. Hans Pauli Pettersen is the son of whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the narrator feeling when he leaves the apartment?

2. Why is the narrator embarrassed by his blanket, and what does he do with it?

3. Why does Mr. Christie reject the narrator?

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

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

6. How do the policemen throughout the novel treat the narrator?

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

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

9. Why is the narrator put into a reserved cell?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think are the main mistakes the narrator makes in the novel? Why does he keep missing opportunities for food and money? How would you react in a similar situation?

Essay Topic 2

How does the narrator's pride doom him to failure? What does his working on a ship at the end of the novel show about his pride? What devices does Knut Hamsun use to explore the narrator's pride?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of nameless characters in the book. How do they enhance the naturalism?

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