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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. Why are the American prisoners given showers?

2. Why did the German soldiers throw Billy into a shrubbery?

3. What do the Tralfamadorans do with Billy?

4. What is the only book Billy can read on the trip to Tralfamadore?

5. Why does Vonnegut stop at the Hudson River on the way to see his friend Bernard O'Hare?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were Roland Weary's feet so bloody?

2. Describe the structure of a Tralfamadoran novel.

3. Where were the American prisoners of war kept as they were captured?

4. Why is it unusual for Kurt Vonnegut to appear in this book as a character?

5. Why do the Germans need to record the names of the prisoners?

6. What is unusual about the way Tralfamadorans view time?

7. Name some of the places in time that Billy travels to in this chapter.

8. What does the story of Sodom and Gomorrah have to do with Vonnegut's book about Dresden?

9. Why were the British officers in this particular camp?

10. Why did Roland Weary start to beat and kick Billy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Vonnegut makes frequent allusions to religious or biblical references in Slaughterhouse-Five. Write an essay that highlights his use of religious and spiritual concepts.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay comparing Slaughterhouse-Five with another novel or book describing events from World War II. Pick one of the following topics as a focus in your essay:

a) Realism about the war.

b) Symbolism.

c) How personal experiences affect writing.

d) The author's attitude toward war.

Essay Topic 3

Read a memoir written by someone who lived through World War II, either as a combatant or as a civilian living in Europe. Write a report on the book, highlighting the part that deals with the experience of living through wartime.

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This section contains 632 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample