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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 Halek steal from Piotr?
2. In what is Sarah Bernhardt rumored to sleep?
3. Booth tells Maryna she will find a picture or a bust of who in every room of the house?
4. What is Ryszard's responsibility on the commune?
5. Who are Good H and Bad H?
Short Essay Questions
1. In Chapter Six, the communal group begins to break up. Where do people go? Does anyone join another commune? Do any of the group remain in California?
2. What story does Ryszard write based on the events at the circus? What is his purpose for writing his story?
3. In Chapter Eight, Maryna talks about her "newly reconstituted family." Who are the members of the family, and what roles do each of these people play in Maryna's life? What does Maryna declare to Bogdan about her life with this family?
4. Maryna and her family travel back to Poland to see their friends and family. How does the author tell the story of their trip? What comes across in the description of the visit? What important pieces of information are presented?
5. In Chapter Seven, Bogdan injures himself and cannot come to San Francisco. What happens between Ryszard and Maryna? How do they change? What happens to their relationship by the end of the chapter?
6. Maryna and her troupe continue their tour across America to packed theatres and adoring audiences. What does Mr Warnock suggest in order to facilitate one night stands across the country? How does this change the tone of her trip across country? What is the name lettered in gold on the car?
7. Mr. Warnock uses a devise by which he fills the theatre. What does he do, and why? How does Maryna react to it? Does it work?
8. What does Maryna choose to use as her audition material for Mr. Barton? How does the audition go? How does the author describe Marya's return to the stage? What do we learn about Maryna?
9. Maryna admired Edwin Booth from the time of her childhood. After her performance with him, she joins him in his apartment. What does she learn about Booth in this chapter?
10. At the end of Chapter Eight, Maryna and Bogdan have a conversation about their relationship. What has each come to recognize about his and herself and about each other? Does this seem genuine on both of their parts?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Maryna declares that Henryk should think of Shakespeare when thinking of a reason to move to America. She explains "Shakespeare is everything." What does she mean by this statement? How does she compare Shakespeare to America? How is this scene like a Shakespearean chorus?
Essay Topic 2
In the opening chapter, the narrator says "the past is the biggest country of all" and expresses the wish to set stories in the past. Discuss this quote and it's relevance to the novel.
Essay Topic 3
The story is told through many voices: the narrator, letters, soliloquies, conversations. The reader sees the main characters through many eyes and ears. Why has the author chosen this style to tell the story? Does it work? Is the reader able to get a well rounded view of the main characters? How else might have the author gone about telling this story?
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This section contains 1,330 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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