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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 type of work did Tomas do on the farm?

2. How did Tomas describe the editor to the man from the Ministry?

3. In Part 4, Chapter 22, Tereza's thoughts about the engineer are...

4. The author describes kitsch as the absolute denial of

5. When did Tomas realize the strange man was interrogating him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Tomas resign from the clinic?

2. In Part 5, Chapter 10, what distinguishes the women who looks like a giraffe and a stork from others?

3. When talking to his son, Simon, what is Tomas's attitude about the article he had written?

4. Prior to suggesting they move there, what experience has Tereza had with country life?

5. What causes Tereza to suspect the engineer was sent by the secret police?

6. In Part 5, Chapter 12, what incident with one of his lovers, who he always took to his friend's house, causes Tomas to be appalled?

7. Describe Tomas's experience as a window washer.

8. Why does Tereza yearn to make love to other men?

9. What does Franz realize at the end of his trip to Cambodia?

10. What does the ambassador tell Tereza is the three functions of the secret police?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If you were in Tereza's shoes, what would you have done to survive Tomas's infidelities, assuming you did not want to leave him? Had Tomas stopped having affairs, what kind of woman would Tereza have become? What kind of relationship would they have shared? Would Tomas been able to have Tereza as the only woman in his life, or would he have discovered they were incompatible? Would having children made a difference in their relationship?

Essay Topic 2

Milan Kundera writes that Franz and Simon are the dreamers of this novel.

1. Compare and contrast the characters of Franz and Simon. How are they the same? How are they different?

2. What purpose does Franza and Simon serve in the novel? Use 3 events from the book where Franz and Simon's characters have an influence on the theme, and the characters, of the book.

3. Who is the bigger dreamer, Franz or Simon? Cite several examples from the book to support your case.

Essay Topic 3

Tomas is a surgeon out of a deep passion and desire.

1. How many times does Tomas jeopardize his career? Cite the incidences where TOmas chooses a route that takes him further and further away from his career.

2. Tomas descends from one job to another, but he claims to Tereza at the end that he is happy. Is Tomas truly happy or pretending to be so? Cite 3 incidences that support your theory.

3. Had Tomas remained in Zurich, where his career as a surgeon flourished, would he have been better off? Or was he destined to be with Tereza and didn't really have a choice? Cite 3 incidences from the book that support your theory.

(see the answer keys)

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