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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. What question does the middle-aged woman have for the group of poets?
2. While watching the beautiful cinematographer on the bus, what does Jaromil realize?
3. When Jaromil wants to recite poetry to the redhead, what disturbing thought occurs to him?
4. To Jaromil, what does Xavier represent?
5. Why is Jaromil jealous of the redhead?
Short Essay Questions
1. Maman is disillusioned about the cinematography girl after the girl does not invite her to the party. How does this show the similarity between Maman and the girl?
2. How is the girl a different person from when she went into the prison? How is she more like Jaromil had been?
3. 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?
4. When the girl visits the middle-aged man, she is wearing winter clothes. What does this detail reveal about the timing in the story?
5. 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?
6. What are Jaromil's hopes for the two women in his life? What does this show about his understanding of both women?
7. 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?
8. The group of poets, Jaromil among them, is invited to speak at the police academy in the countryside. What is the irony of this situation and what does it say about the ideals they espouse?
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. What is Maman's opinion about the redheaded girl? How does her reaction perpetuate the cycle of her own relationship with Jaromil?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Does the story of Xavier's time in the yellow house border on the fantastic? What makes the story plausible and what makes it fantastical?
Essay Topic 2
What interaction do the characters have with nature? When is nature kind and when is it cruel? How much responsibility does nature bear for actions in the characters' lives (i.e., the boulder, the park, the snow, and the cold wind).
Essay Topic 3
Jaromil has realized several times that he has not entered into "real life" (Part 5, Chapter 5, pg 216). Where are the instances of this? How does this convert the book's title into a theme throughout the book?
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This section contains 1,807 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) |
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