View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bubbles call the narrator before he leaves?

2. When did the narrator go home to visit his college girlfriend's family?

3. Where does the narrator say he abandoned the Monkey?

4. What had the Monkey once been?

5. What unnerves the narrator about the Monkey?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened on the trip with the Monkey that began to change their relationship?

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

3. What does Alex say about the photo of Jesus in Bubbles's house?

4. How does Alex describe the "Sunday morning ritual" in his neighborhood?

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

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

7. What does Alex suggest that the Monkey says are his worst sins?

8. Who does Alex describe as the first of the shikses he had a relationship with? What attracted him to her?

9. What story does Alex tell of the Monkey with the married couple?

10. What does the narrator say about his resentment for his Jewishness and shikses in Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Roth's use of foreshadowing in Portnoy's Complaint. How does the atypical structure of the plot create a window for foreshadowing? Define this term and give examples of foreshadowing in the text.

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 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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 738 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample