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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. Who does Maryna dream about on their first night on their land?

2. What do the immigrants have for their first meal in the new home?

3. At the conclusion of Chapter Five, what have the immigrants decided to do?

4. What is Bogdan's new name?

5. After shooting President Lincoln, what does Edwin say his brother John does?

Short Essay Questions

1. Ryszard offers to take Bogdan and Maryna on a trip to San Bernardinos. Does Bogdan go on the trip? How does he feel about Maryna and Ryzsard alone on the trip?

2. 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?

3. When Wanda attempts suicide, how do the members of the commune react to her attempt?

4. In his love letter to Maryna in which he asks her to travel with him, Ryzard refers to Jack Goodyear, a squatter Ryszard has met in the mountains. Jack Goodyear explains to Ryszard that "sometimes it seems to him as though there were two Jacks." What does Goodyear mean by this?

5. How does Booth treat Maryna in his monologue? Why does she suffer his verbal abuses?

6. 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?

7. What story does Ryszard write based on the events at the circus? What is his purpose for writing his story?

8. In Chapter Eight, Bogdan explains to Maryna he saw a flying machine on the beach in California. Who is with Bogdan when he sees the plane? Who owns the plane? What does it look like? What is the significance of Bogdan's interest in a flying machine?

9. In Chapter Seven, the narrator says "and she would tell many lies." Why does Maryna begin to tell lies? What does she lie about? What are some of the lies she tells and to whom?

10. How does Maryna compare her partners on the commune to actors?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Maryna returns to the theatre, she begins to once again reinvent herself for this life in America. How does she do this? How calculated are her lies and fabrications? What has she learned about Americans and their heroes?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

While on the ship to America, the narrator describes Ryszard as actually being two people. Who are these two people inside of him, and how do they coexist to define Ryszard? Is this a universal theme, or one unique to Ryszard?

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