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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 had the Monkey once been?

2. Who was the narrator's girl friend at Antioch?

3. Who wrote the essay, "The Most Prevalent Form of Degradation in Erotic Life"?

4. What is one of the books the narrator buys for the Monkey?

5. What is the Monkey's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Alex feel about having "a real" relationship with the Monkey?

2. What does Alex say he sometimes fantasizes about in Chapter 6?

3. What does the narrator retell about the burlesque show in Chapter 4?

4. What, according to the narrator, are the worst sins he has committed in Chapter 4?

5. Why did Alex and Kay almost marry? What caused him to end the relationship?

6. Where did Alex go on a trip with Kay? What does Alex say about his experience with Kay's family?

7. What does the narrator say about the Monkey's life story in Chapter 4?

8. When do the narrator's doubts about the Monkey reach a climax?

9. Who is the second shikse Alex speaks about being involved with in Chapter 5? How is she described?

10. What attracts Alex to Naomi? How does he express his feelings for her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the story of The Monkey. How does the timeline of actual events differ with the narrative of the protagonist? What does this inform us of Alex's character?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

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