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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. How old is the Czechoslovakian tourist Julius has a one-night encounter with?

2. What is the main impression Julius gives of the dream he has at the beginning of Chapter 10?

3. On his way home from the cinema, who does Julius have a presentiment about seeing again?

4. Where is Saidu from?

5. What does Dr. Maillotte tell Julius she thinks about Ghanaians?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Julius say his work requires of him, and what does he say he enjoys about it?

2. What are Farouq’s two projects?

3. What importance does Heliopolis hold, in the conversation between Julius and Dr. Maillotte?

4. What is it about Coca-Cola that the younger Julius found so appealing?

5. What does Julius say his relationship with his mother is like?

6. How does Julius react to the waitress who brings him his coffee in the café in Grand Sablon?

7. What kind of person does Julius show himself to be in the taxi he gets home from American Folk Art Museum?

8. Who is V. and what is her relationship with Julius?

9. How does Julius describe his encounter with the Czechoslovakian tourist he meets in the café?

10. What memory does the rain spur in Julius’ trip to Brussels?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The surprise revelation that Julius had raped Moji as a child puts the reader in the position of revising his or her estimation of Julius’ narrative, and revisit the narrative for evidence that would exonerate or condemn Julius. This basically constitutes a second reading of the book. How do you respond to this impetus? Do you want to go back and figure him out? Is Julius a puzzle you want to resolve? Or are there things about Julius or about the novel that make you hesitant or even unwilling to invest the work in figuring him out? What makes you want to figure him out? What makes you want to leave him and his mystery to themselves?

Essay Topic 2

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the style Cole uses for this novel? What does Cole gain by Julius’ impressions being so egalitarian? What does he lose by constantly changing focus, from one scene to the next, without building the kinds of personal drama we expect in a novel? How is this style fitted to the themes of Julius’ interests? Does it ultimately weigh in the book’s favor, or is its style an obstacle to the book’s meaning?

Essay Topic 3

How are women represented in Open City? What roles do they play, and how does Julius and other men in the novel treat them? What does Julius’ and others’ treatment of women tell us about Teju Cole’s values as an author or about the fictional universe he has created?

(see the answer keys)

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