View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Joyce choose to deal with his troubles?

2. Which one of Joyce's siblings worked with him at the school in Trieste?

3. How many children did Joyce's parents have?

4. What was the cause of the death of Joyce's brother?

5. Joyce is a name of ________________ origin.

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the difficult time Joyce had in Rome while working at the bank.

2. Describe Joyce's father, John's, young life in Ireland.

3. When was Joyce born and who had a strong influence on him as a boy?

4. What bad luck awaited Joyce when he went to Trieste for a position at a Berlitz school?

5. What two major forces occurred for Joyce during this disgruntled period in his life?

6. What was Joyce like as a college student at University College in Dublin?

7. What was Joyce like as a young child in school and for what was he frequently punished?

8. What was Joyce's relationship like with his father and how many siblings did Joyce have?

9. Describe the salient points of Ellmann's explanation of Joyce's writing of "The Dead".

10. When did Joyce meet Nora Barnacle and what was she like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

From what you can glean from the author's descriptions, create a brief character study of Joyce's father. What did he look like? What were his positive personality traits? What were some of his negative characteristics? What were his hopes and fears? Was there ever any friction between him and Joyce? How did he reconcile with him? What emotional damage was done to the relationship?

Essay Topic 2

The theme of struggling with personal identity was an important one in this book. Describe how it extends through setting, character and issues and provide examples for each.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the cultural climate in Europe in the early 20th century and why Joyce's work did not always meet with approval? How did perception of his work change as the years passed? What was the reception of Joyce's work in America? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,288 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample