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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. Symbolically, what role does Maman want to play in Jaromil's life?
(a) The source of eternal light.
(b) A guardian angel.
(c) A large meadow.
(d) An all-encompassing embrace.

2. How old is Jaromil when he catches pneumonia?
(a) Nineteen.
(b) Twenty.
(c) Twenty-six.
(d) Twenty-four.

3. At Jaromil's sick bed, what words link Maman most closely to him, in her mind?
(a) "Are you in such a hurry to leave me?"
(b) "You're a poet, and I am so happy for you. . .".
(c) "I don't want him to look down on us."
(d) "Everything he's ever done has been in the interests of the working class."

4. What does the redhead claim that she did when she had a doctor's appointment?
(a) Sent the appointment card back to the doctor.
(b) Threw away the appointment card and didn't go.
(c) Burned the appointment card.
(d) Went to the appointment even though she hated it.

5. What is the redhead's reaction to Jaromil's poetry printed in the newspaper?
(a) She had not even known he wrote poetry.
(b) She did not understand the poem.
(c) She thought he was wasting his time.
(d) She was thrilled to have a famous boyfriend.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many poets participate in the recitation?

2. While Jaromil is talking with the redhead about love, how does death enter the conversation?

3. What contest does the party guest suggest to Jaromil?

4. Why has the middle-aged man arranged signals with the people who visit him?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Jaromil's hopes for the two women in his life? What does this show about his understanding of both women?

2. How is the girl a different person from when she went into the prison? How is she more like Jaromil had been?

3. According to Jaromil, why did he run from the window where he first saw the redheaded girl? How does this move the story forward and reveal Jaromil's personality at the same time?

4. What arguments do Jaromil and the redhead have concerning their families? How does this illustrate Jaromil's juvenile mindset?

5. Near the end of the book, Xavier betrays Jaromil by leaving him behind. What is the significance of this scene?

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

7. Kundera says that the young person can be so loyally devoted to an idea because he believes in absolutes (Part 5, Chapter 6, pg 220). How does this fit with Jaromil's personality?

8. After a period of estrangement from Maman, why is Jaromil ready to make peace with her? How do the two of them have very different perceptions of this reconciliation?

9. 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?

10. "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?

(see the answer keys)

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