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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. Where does the narrator travel intentionally in Chapter 7 after Adriaan leaves?

2. What does Kees do for a living?

3. What language does the narrator speak to the accused in Chapter 5?

4. What kind of work does the narrator do?

5. What does the narrator recall seeing on a recent trip to Old Town in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who regularly protests outside the criminal court's buildings?

2. What does Adriaan offer to do for his first meeting with Jana and the narrator?

3. Why is it a significant step for Jana to own her own apartment?

4. What does Bettina ask the narrator to do in Chapter 5?

5. What does Adriaan want the narrator to do while he is away, and how does the narrator react to this request?

6. According to the narrator, what does one hear the longer she listens to any one interpreter speaking?

7. What does translation and interpretation require, according to the narrator?

8. How does the narrator find out that Adriaan is married?

9. What does the narrator buy at the antique bookshop in Chapter 7?

10. How does the narrator feel about New York City in Part I?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does Adriaan offer enough of an explanation for his former silences to satisfy the narrator - and the reader - at the end of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does seeing Anton with a woman who he is obviously having an affair with seem to affect the narrator's feelings about her own tenuous relationship with Adriaan? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does the narrator feel during her first several months living in The Hague? What is unusual about The Hague as a setting? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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