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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. Why was Maman initially pleased to think about meeting Jaromil's girlfriend?

2. After the girl rejects the man's caresses, what does she wish he were?

3. What question does the middle-aged woman have for the group of poets?

4. What happens to Jaromil's uncle?

5. At Jaromil's sick bed, what words link Maman most closely to him, in her mind?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the author insert his own thoughts into Part 6, Chapter 1? What effect does this have on this entire part?

3. What does the middle-aged man tell the girl about Jaromil? How is this story the opposite of what Jaromil ever wanted?

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

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

6. 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?

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

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

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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Find examples of older people in love with younger. How does this fit the Freudian theme of Jaromil with his mother? What is the significance in the fact that Xavier cannot undress the old woman?

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?

(see the answer keys)

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