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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 was the one thing that Tereza's mother did not allow to exist in her home?

2. What may have attributed to the female puppy, Karenin, falling in love wtih Tereza rather than Tomas?

3. What did Sabina like to do when she felt low?

4. What feelings did Sabina portray towards the immigrants she sat with?

5. What world evoked in Sabina a sweet, nostalgic memory of her homeland?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were books for Tereza?

2. In Part 1, Chapter 3, what did Tomas struggle with after Tereza returned to her small Czech town?

3. Describe Marie-Claude's personality.

4. Describe Tereza's mother:

5. Is reaching the lightness of being Sabina's goal?

6. How did Tereza react to her mother's phone call telling her she had cancer and only 5 months to live?

7. What type of daughter was Tereza? What was her lifestyle like?

8. Do you think that Tomas and Tereaz met by chance or by fate?

9. Describe Franz's weakness.

10. Why did Tomas initially reject the Swiss doctor's office to in Switzerland?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The possibility of a different outcome between Tomas and Tereza.

What could Tomas have done to help change the course of his relationship with Tereza? What could she have done differently? Why did neither one of them try to take a stronger stand with the other in an attempt to rescue the relationship?

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the three options to write about:

1. Kandera compares the behavior of animals to that of humans. Cite 3 examples where Kandera compares animals to humans and discuss his views on this subject.

2. Kandera questions why humans don't have the selfless love that exists between people and animals. Tereza, for instance, has a better love for her dog than for Tomas. Cite 3 examples of how Tereza's love for her dog Karenin is better than her love for Tomas. What actions would have made her love unconditional?

3. Tereza treats the animals she comes across well. Would she have made a good mother? How do you think her childhood experience might have influenced her relationship with her children, had she had any? Would she have been a happier more fulfilled woman had she had children?

Essay Topic 3

Tomas and Tereza are crushed in a car accident.

1. Did Tomas and Tereza live under a lot of weight throughout their relationship? Cite examples.

2. Kundera claims that weight represents a more realistic life. Do you agree? Is Tomas and Tereza's life more realistic than other characters in the novel, such as Sabina and Franz?

3. Throughout the novel, does Tomas and Tereza make decisions with the intent of approaching lightness or weight? What is the results? Cite 3 incidences where their decisions lead to lightness or weight.

(see the answer keys)

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