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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Which famous composer's music is played at the blond girl's funeral?
2. Why does Jaromil wait to show his poetry to the university girl?
3. The second time that Jaromil does not make love to the university girl, what does she think?
4. What does Jaromil think is the quintessential surrealist object?
5. What does Jaromil draw during his first lesson in the artist's studio?
Short Essay Questions
1. How are Jaromil's university experiences told in the novel? What message does this convey to the reader about the scope of the novel?
2. How does Jaromil prepare for a date with a girl? How does his preparation actually make him completely unprepared for the date?
3. After the death of Maman's husband, how does she change? Though Kundera does not make it overt, is this change for the better or for the worse?
4. 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?
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. Why is Jaromil thrilled at the thought of catching Magda, the family maid, in the bathtub? What does this say about his sexual development?
7. In Xavier's interactions with the woman in the apartment, what role does water play?
8. When the Communists stage a coup, Jaromil and his uncle fight about the justice of the action. What does this fight reveal about Jaromil's place in the world, particularly in the political realm?
9. Throughout the second half of Part 3, what do Jaromil and the university girl think about their love? What impression does their opinion give to the reader?
10. What revelation does Maman have about her husband one night after a party? How does this affect her relationship with Jaromil?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
When is Jaromil compared to other poets? How does their fame reflect on him? What is the effect of these comparisons?
Essay Topic 2
Though the idea of running does not appear until the end of Part III, how is it present throughout the book? How does the desire to run guide many choices that the characters make?
Essay Topic 3
How is Xavier an important person because of the list in his notebook? How might Jaromil seek similar importance through these fantasies/dreams?
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This section contains 1,764 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
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