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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. After Jaromil hears about the girl's brother, what action does he want her to take?
(a) Flee the country with him.
(b) Persuade her brother not to flee.
(c) Urge her family to stop her brother.
(d) Tell the police.

2. In Kundera's example, what will happen to the poet if he steps outside his mirrored domain?
(a) He will cease to be self-absorbed.
(b) He will be unable to handle humanity.
(c) He will lose all poetic power.
(d) He will surely die.

3. What had the middle-aged man done when the girl was arrested?
(a) Pleaded with a judge to free her.
(b) Gotten another girlfriend.
(c) Tore up her picture and called her an enemy of the future.
(d) Tried his best to rescue her.

4. When Jaromil wants to recite poetry to the redhead, what disturbing thought occurs to him?
(a) He has not ever written something of value and purpose.
(b) His fame will never surpass that of the famous poet.
(c) The only modern poetry is that which will be understood by a common girl like her.
(d) He has only written political poems, which she will not understand.

5. Returning home from the police station, what does Jaromil find?
(a) A letter from the redhead breaking up with him.
(b) A letter from his uncle who was sent to prison several years earlier.
(c) An invitation from the cinematographer to attend a party.
(d) A letter of praise from the janitor's son about his poetry.

Short Answer Questions

1. Once Jaromil arrives at the party hosted by the cinematographer, how does he feel about his clothes?

2. Why does the newspaper editor not want to publish Jaromil's poems?

3. Symbolically, what role does Maman want to play in Jaromil's life?

4. At the end of Part 6, what sound does Kundera hear?

5. Why is Jaromil jealous of the redhead?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Jaromil recites his poems to the audience of police members? How does this compare to the hopes he has had?

2. Jaromil's first revelation about duty is that it is "voluntary and represents human daring and dignity" (Part 5, Chapter 11, pg 263). Given his situation, is this true?

3. What is Maman's opinion about the redheaded girl? How does her reaction perpetuate the cycle of her own relationship with Jaromil?

4. When Jaromil is angry at the redhead for being fifteen minutes late, what change ensues in their relationship? How does this mark a turning point in Jaromil's development as a person?

5. After not sleeping with the cinematographer, Jaromil considers his underwear for a long time, in light of the women involved. What does he decide? How does this single piece of clothing drive so much of what he does?

6. "Only a real poet knows how lonely it is inside the mirrored house of poetry" (Part 7, Chapter 1, pg 289). Where else does the reader see mirrors in the story, and how does this sentence relate to Jaromil's life?

7. When the girl visits the middle-aged man, she is wearing winter clothes. What does this detail reveal about the timing in the story?

8. How does the author insert his own thoughts into Part 6, Chapter 1? What effect does this have on this entire part?

9. As it is painfully revealed in Part 5, Chapters 4 - 6, why do Maman and Jaromil struggle to live together? What does this say about their relationship as mother and son?

10. Why does Jaromil want to undress the redhead? How does this show his inadequate understanding of relationships?

(see the answer keys)

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