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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. Which person dies on the railroad trip in Germany?

2. Why does Mary O'Hare get angry at Kurt Vonnegut?

3. Where in the city are the prisoners of war kept during the bombing?

4. What does Billy dream about in the hospital?

5. What type of book does Vonnegut tell his friend he is writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author keep reminding the reader that Edgar Derby will die in Dresden?

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

3. Why do the soliders not want Billy to sleep near them?

4. Why is Billy afraid to drop down from the railroad car?

5. How did Billy finally get some sleep?

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

7. What parts of Ilium remind Billy of the ruined towns in World War II?

8. What does Billy extrapolate happening after the end of the war movie he is watching on the night before his daughter's wedding?

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

10. When does Billy Pilgrim first experience being unstuck in time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Slaughterhouse-Five an historical fiction or a science fiction? Write an essay defining each genre and answering this question. Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

How does luck figure into Billy's Pilgrim's life? Is he a lucky person or an unlucky person? Use examples from the novel to argue your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay addressing the use of humor in Slaughterhouse-Five. How does the author use humor in the book? Use examples from the text to illustrate your thesis.

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This section contains 494 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample