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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 does the narrator feel after his experience with a woman the first time?

2. What color hair does the character Naomi have?

3. Who does the narrator recite a poem by to the Monkey?

4. What is the name of the woman whom the narrator dates in Connecticut?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Where does Alex speak of taking a trip with the Monkey in Chapter 5? What did the voices of his parents say in his head as he drove?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the story of Cousin Heshie and how this relates to the narrator. How did this event and the surrounding circumstances shade his view of shikses and rebellion?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of Sexual Obsession in Portnoy's Complaint. How does this theme intertwine with the other themes presented? How does this aspect of the narrator's personality drive his action?

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