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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. Why does the lyrical poet make his poetry striking?
(a) He speaks out of powerful places in History.
(b) His subject matter demands a strong voice.
(c) Only striking poetry will be accepted by the readers.
(d) His life is uneventful.

2. How does Jaromil feel after talking to the police about the redhead's brother?
(a) Afraid for the train of events he has started.
(b) Eager to help the state.
(c) Emotionally shaken.
(d) Confident and more decisive.

3. Why is Jaromil not jealous when he considers the redhead in the hands of the policemen?
(a) Once she is gone, he no longer cares about her.
(b) He knows that her love for him will never waver.
(c) He has deep faith that the policemen will never hurt her.
(d) She is his creation and therefore belongs only to him.

4. What happens during the second half of Jaromil's poetry recitation?
(a) Lights come on and a camera starts rolling.
(b) The pretty cinematographer throws a rose to him.
(c) He loses his place on the page and becomes flustered.
(d) The audience gives him a standing ovation so he has to stop reading.

5. While Jaromil is talking with the redhead about love, how does death enter the conversation?
(a) When they promise to be die together in suicide.
(b) When she threatens to kill herself if he ever leaves her.
(c) When she swore she could not live without him.
(d) When he threatens to kill her if she ever leaves him.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens when a classmate asks Jaromil about the redhead?

2. Just outside the prison, why does the girl hate to see the horses and riders?

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

4. In the cinematographer's apartment, what happens?

5. According to Jaromil, how do socialism and love interact?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

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

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

6. How does Jaromil feel while he is visiting the janitor's son at the police station? What does this say about his personal growth?

7. 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?

8. In planning the documentary about Jaromil's life, what do Maman and Jaromil reveal about themselves? What do they reveal about their relationship?

9. 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?

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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