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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. Who or what is the real source of Jaromil's poetic inspiration?

2. How does Xavier use sleep?

3. Why is 1949 an interesting year for Czech youth?

4. What is the highest point of happiness which Jaromil reaches so far in his life?

5. How does Maman mourn her husband's death?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Jaromil view the loss of his virginity as a metaphysical event? Is his perception true?

3. At the debate in Part 3, Chapter 15, what arguments does Jaromil make about progress? Given his own life, how are these views ironic?

4. Maman and the engineer disagree about where Jaromil was conceived. Why is this an important debate?

5. Consider titles of the novel, sections, and chapters. How do the titles help to establish the frame of the story?

6. "It was sad, but beautiful, too: for a moment, Jaromil lost the feeling of being a mere child" (Part 3, Chapter 25, pg 150). What causes this moment? Will it last?

7. How are Jaromil's university experiences told in the novel? What message does this convey to the reader about the scope of the novel?

8. 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?

9. When Kundera opens the scene of Maman and Jaromil's vacation, he uses many descriptive words and phrases. What effect does this have on the reading of the novel?

10. While Jaromil is still a child, how does Maman prepare him for success as a writer? How does her preparation, paradoxically, also prepare him for failure?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of Part 6? Is it helpful to be drawn out of Jaromil's life for a brief time? How far away from Jaromil is the reader actually drawn? What literary advantages does this section of the book have: propel the action forward, reveal characters, create a foil, or something else?

Essay Topic 2

What is the setting of the novel? How does this establish the story? How might the story be different in another setting?

Essay Topic 3

What role does guilt play in Jaromil's life? How does Maman use guilt, and how is she susceptible to it herself?

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