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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. The narrator says in Chapter 6, "Doctor, maybe other patients dream--with me, everything _______."

2. How long was the narrator with the Monkey?

3. What is the name of the girl whom the protagonist has his first sexual experience?

4. What is the name of the strip club the narrator speaks of going to when he was underage?

5. What irritates the narrator about the way the Monkey reads?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the memories of the Monkey conjure in Alex's memory in Chapter 4?

3. What is the title of Chapter 5? What does this refer to?

4. What happened with Mandel and Bubbles? What does this prompt the narrator to need to know?

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

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

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

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

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

10. Who is Bubbles? What was she to Alex?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the Oedipus Complex as it applies to the main character of Portnoy's Complaint. What emotions and experiences support this theme?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of Guilt/Shame in the novel. How does this relate to the narrator's feelings of rebellion? Where does this emotion resonate the most in the narrator? How does this affect his actions in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the historical context of when this novel was published. How did this time period affect the reception of the novel and its subject matter? Could this novel have been received so well ten years prior? Why? Why not?

(see the answer keys)

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