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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Maman, where was the poet conceived?
(a) In the countryside near Prague.
(b) On a park bench.
(c) In the apartment of the father's colleague.
(d) In her apartment.

2. When Jaromil and the university girl are kissing in her house, what does Jaromil think about obsessively?
(a) The girl's breath.
(b) Turning off the light.
(c) His torn shirt cuff.
(d) His early curfew.

3. Why does Maman not want to go to the lake on vacation?
(a) She wanted her husband to go along.
(b) She did not have enough money.
(c) Jaromil did not want to go with her.
(d) It would have reminded her of happier summers.

4. Why does Jaromil begin taking lesson from the art teacher?
(a) He thought the art teacher would make a good father.
(b) He was tired of drawing people with dogs' heads.
(c) His art was consistently mediocre.
(d) Maman took an interest in the art teacher.

5. According to Kundera, what is "tenderness"?
(a) The proper response of a parent to the child.
(b) The sheltering of a child so that he does not mature.
(c) Treating the woman like a child, for fear of consequences.
(d) The affection of the woman for her lover.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do Jaromil's classmates find most irritating about him?

2. Why does Xavier constantly arrive late, no matter where he's going?

3. What is Jaromil's criterion for a true poem?

4. Why is 1949 an interesting year for Czech youth?

5. What classic womanly question does the university girl ask Jaromil?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Maman combs Jaromil's hair in front of her guests, how does he react? According to the implications of the text, how does this deepen the rift between them?

2. Why is Jaromil attracted to the dark-haired girl? What does this attraction show about his development as a character?

3. In Xavier's interactions with the woman in the apartment, what role does water play?

4. What is the point of the scene in which Xavier leads his military compatriots to battle? Why does he not get his wish for death?

5. When the artist explains the red and brown painting to Maman, what is her response? How does this set the tone for the rest of their relationship?

6. What revelation does Maman have about her husband one night after a party? How does this affect her relationship with Jaromil?

7. What does Xavier notice most about the woman in the apartment? How does the woman use her eyes?

8. Given the first three paragraphs of Part 2, what leads the reader to believe that this character is Jaromil? What clues tell the reader that it is someone else?

9. What role does Jaromil want the artist to play in his life? How does the artist fall short of these expectations?

10. What role do the twenty telephone receivers play in the story?

(see the answer keys)

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