View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Maryna declare "you have waited so long."
(a) Dinner was served after 11 pm.
(b) She has been gone for a long time.
(c) The performance ran late.
(d) She is beginning to recite a poem.

2. Where did Bogdan and Maryana dine on their night out alone in New York City?
(a) Delmonico's.
(b) The Plaza.
(c) Kreis'.
(d) Ruth's Chris.

3. What other book does Maryna plan to read on the ship?
(a) Villett.
(b) Shakespeare.
(c) The Stage.
(d) Collette.

4. Who is called a "national symbol?"
(a) Churchill.
(b) Maryna.
(c) Stalin.
(d) Bogdan.

5. What year do the characters leave for Zakopane?
(a) 1902.
(b) 1876.
(c) 1899.
(d) 1821.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Krystyna?

2. What does the little boy ask for when dinner is served?

3. What does Ryszard give to Maryna after her performance?

4. When is the story set?

5. What people does Ryszard find to be the most polite people in New York?

Short Essay Questions

1. To whom does Maryna write in Chapter Four? Where is she as the letter begins? Where does she go during the course of the letter? Where is she at the end of the letter? Why does the author choose a letter narration in this chapter?

2. Who does Ryszard meet in the lounge of a whorehouse in New York City? What is important about the introduction Ryszard makes to the man? What do the two men talk about? What important thing does the man confirm for Ryszard?

3. Maryna relates the story of her childhood to various people in Chapter One. Discuss her childhood and the influences on her life.

4. In Chapter Zero, from whose voice is the story told? Who is the narrator? What does the narrator reveal about herself?

5. In Chapter Zero, the narrator gives us a picture of Maryna by quoting her saying "we must always ask more of ourselves." What conclusions does the narrator draw from this statement and Maryna's behavior at the party?

6. While Maryna and her husband are busy selling their house and preparing to leave for America, a member of Maryna's family dies. Who is this person, and why is the death so upsetting for Maryna? Who else is present at the death? Where does Maryna go after the death?

7. Maryna explains to Henryk why they are traveling to California by ship. What are the reasons? What is the faster way to get to California from New York? How does the trip go?

8. How does Maryna talk about the passenger who went overboard on the ship? Why does she talk so much about the incident? What are her speculations as to what happened? What are her feelings?

9. Who comes into Maryna's dressing room before the performance at the theatre in Krakow? What happens? How does Maryna react to the visitor's behavior?

10. According to her monologue at the end of Chapter One, why is Maryna ready to leave acting and try something new?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,239 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample