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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. While kissing the old woman, why does Xavier turn on the light?
(a) He wants to block out all sight of the blond girl.
(b) He wants to take away the old woman's shame in her withered body.
(c) He does not want to lose sight of the blond girl.
(d) He wants to show off for the blond girl.

2. Why does the artist paint two X's on Maman's face?
(a) To show his cancellation of humanity.
(b) So that he can recreate her.
(c) To illustrate his secret hatred of women.
(d) So that her original existence means nothing.

3. What kind of dog does the art teacher have?
(a) An Alsatian.
(b) A Dalmatian.
(c) A Great Dane.
(d) A St. Bernard.

4. As the story reveals, what is in store for the famous poet?
(a) Jaromil's hatred.
(b) Sudden death.
(c) Ostracization from society.
(d) Painful death.

5. What reason does the poet's father give for not having more children?
(a) Jaromil is such a nuisance that he does not want more like him.
(b) He was forced to compromise for one child in the beginning, so Maman should compromise and be happy with only one.
(c) He cannot afford to raise more children.
(d) He is about to go to war and would not be a part of the children's lives.

Short Answer Questions

1. The second time that Jaromil does not make love to the university girl, what does she think?

2. Why does Maman blame Jaromil for all her troubles?

3. When do Jaromil's parents redecorate his room?

4. Why does the blond girl wear a beautiful white dress to the dance hall?

5. Why is Jaromil filled with pride after sleeping with the redhead girl?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Part 4 begin? What are the literary advantages to this?

2. At the ski lodge, Xavier kisses the old woman while luring the girl outside in the snow. In this scene, how do the women exchange places in life? How is this emphasized by the colors they wear?

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

4. Why does Xavier leave the woman behind at the end of Part 2?

5. "He [Jaromil] was searching for immensity. His life was hopeless, small, everything around him was flat, gray" (Part 3, Chapter 8, pg 104). How does Kundera's presentation of the novel prove this to be true?

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

7. 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?

8. Why is Maman angry at Jaromil because of her love life? Is her anger justified?

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

10. When Jaromil returns at midnight after walking the university girl home, Maman becomes hysterical because she was worried about him. What does this scene show about these two people's perception of love?

(see the answer keys)

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