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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 did the narrator write as his favorite profession when he was in eighth grade?

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

3. What does the narrator say that the Monkey is, in his dad's terms?

4. To what place does the narrator speak of taking a trip to in Chapter 6?

5. What name had the narrator picked for himself out of the Essex County phone book?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What does Alex remark about Israel?

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

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

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

8. What does the narrator recall which might be "the root of his problems" in Chapter 4 regarding his mother?

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

10. 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?

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 theme of religion in Portnoy's Complaint. How does the narrator express his issues with Judaism? What are his feelings toward Christianity? How does religion tie into the other themes in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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