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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 is the name of the narrator's father?

2. Where does the narrator's family move in 1941?

3. Who is the shikse who comes to dinner with the narrator's father?

4. Where is the narrator's uncle's store?

5. What was the narrator's mother called in high school?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does the narrator tell about Ronald Nimkin?

2. How did the narrator's father feel about his job? How did he express his feelings to his family?

3. What does Alex remark about his father's bowel movements in Chapter 4?

4. What were the narrator's father's ambitions for him growing up?

5. How does the narrator describe his sister in their early years?

6. Why does the young Alex believe he has cancer?

7. Where does Alex's family move during his childhood? When does this happen?

8. What does the narrator speak of regarding his humiliations with his mother as a child in Chapter 3?

9. What does the narrator's father urge him to take lessons in? Why?

10. What is the one meaningful conversation the narrator speaks of having with his sister in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the narrator's experiences of sexuality in America to those of his experiences in Israel. What significance is implied by these differences?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the different types of conflict in Portnoy's Complaint. What is the predominant conflict of the novel? What are some of the conflicts the narrator describes between himself and others?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of the character of Dr. Spielvogel in the novel. What literary device does this character embody?

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