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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 take as a souvenir from Tsin?

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

3. What college does the Monkey pick up an application for?

4. What does the narrator say that his Rabbi smelled like?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. 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?

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

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

9. What does Alex remark about Israel?

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

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of bigotry and racism in Portnoy's Complaint. Which characters embody racist traits? How does the narrator relate these? How does this affect the narrator's career choice?

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?

(see the answer keys)

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